Helen Money with Susan Voelz at White Lilac

This is one of them.

Susan Voelz and Helen Money (Alison Chesley)—two of the most adventurous, genre-defying string players in modern music—share the stage for a rare, intimate performance at White Lilac.

A violinist, composer, and writer, Susan Voelz has spent decades reshaping what the violin can do in modern music.

A core member of the legendary Poi Dog Pondering, she helped define a sound that blends rock, soul, orchestral pop, and experimental textures—earning the band a devoted following and critical acclaim.

Her résumé reads like a map of American music:

• Kim Deal
• The Breeders
• Ezra Furman
• John Mellencamp
• Alejandro Escovedo
• Ronnie Lane (of the Faces)
• Appearances on Austin City Limits, Saturday Night Live, and The Tonight Show

She has composed for PBS and the Peabody Award-winning Frontline, and authored The Musician’s Guide to the Road (Billboard/Random House).

Her work lives somewhere between:
rock violin, cinematic composition, and poetic storytelling—deeply human, atmospheric, and emotionally fearless.

If Susan Voelz expands the violin… Helen Money reinvents the cello.

Chicago-based cellist and composer Alison Chesley has built an international reputation for her powerful, amplified cello work—fusing classical technique with the intensity of post-rock, metal, and experimental music.

She has collaborated with and shared stages alongside:

• Bob Mould
• Broken Social Scene
• Anthrax
• Disturbed
• Russian Circles
• Shellac, Earth, Neurosis, Mono

Her project Helen Money has toured extensively across the U.S. and Europe, with performances at festivals curated by Portishead and Shellac.

Her sound is often described as:

“crushingly beautiful… orchestral, cinematic, and visceral”

(And that’s not hype—you feel it in your chest.)

Both artists have crossed paths in Poi Dog Pondering’s orbit, but each has carved a singular voice:

• Voelz: lyrical, expressive, story-driven
• Chesley: raw, immersive, elemental

Together, they create a space where:

• classical meets distortion
• composition meets improvisation
• beauty meets tension

This is not background music.

This is listen-with-your-whole-body music.

In a world of noise, this is something rare:

• 45 seats
• total focus
• no distractions

Two masterful artists.
One room that listens.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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