Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Bellum.
Hi Sara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Sara Bellum and the Brainwaves are a 7-piece dance punk band based in Kansas City, Missouri. Our music combines danceable rhythms, rockin’ guitar riffs, and upbeat melodies with uncommon instrumentation: viola, keytar, and foley art.
Our inception began in theatre school at UMKC, where I met guitarist MC Burnie Beta, sound designer Theo Theta, and vocalist/keytarist Zesty Zeta. Although it took many years for our band to form fully, these friendships developed the groundwork of what our group would become. After meeting violist Gemma Gamma, drummer Delma Delta, and bassist Athen Alpha, the band was fully assembled in late 2024, began performing live in January 2025, and started recording in April 2025. With the departure of Athen Alpha to attend college at the end of 2025, the Brainwaves welcomed bassist/keys player Spencer Synapse to join our group.
Just as our name emphasizes the brain, much of our music and art focuses on mental health and healing. We believe that mental health is just as important as physical health. We want to build a loving community with our art.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, in many ways. I’ve dealt with stage fright since I was a kid, and even now, performing can bring up a lot of those same fears. I’ve been performing since middle school, whether it be choir, band, or theater, and I still get those pre-show jitters.
I’ve always been really hard on myself, too. I tend to overthink things and criticize myself before anyone else even has the chance. I struggle with imposter syndrome and sometimes feel like I’m not good enough. That’s probably part of why my songwriting is so personal to me. I don’t really like people reading my lyrics until I feel like they’re ready. There’s something really vulnerable about letting someone see your words before you’ve had a chance to fully understand them yourself. I can be pretty protective of that process.
When I was a kid, I also struggled with projecting my voice. This led to a lot of confidence issues for me. I had to take voice lessons to learn how to properly project without pushing and blowing out my vocal cords.
But I think all of those struggles have also shaped me as an artist. I realized that everything I wanted was on the other side of fear, and I just had to be brave enough to face it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As the lead singer and lyricist of Sara Bellum and the Brainwaves, I’m responsible for bringing a lot of the emotion and storytelling to what we create. I write the lyrics, drawing from personal experiences, observations, and whatever inspires me in the moment, and then I work with MC Burnie Beta to turn those ideas into demos. I also focus on how those songs are delivered—finding the right emotion, energy, and connection with the audience. For me, it’s not just about singing the words; it’s about making people feel something and giving them a reason to connect with the music.
Sara Bellum and the Brainwaves is a seven-piece dance-punk band, and what sets us apart is how much we embrace the unexpected. At the core, we’re interested in making music that feels energetic, playful, and a bit unpredictable— we’re not afraid to pull from sounds and instruments you might not normally associate with a punk or dance band.
We have the usual driving rhythm section and guitar, but we also have the unusual instrumentation of viola and live foley art. The viola creates secondary melodies and a bit of call-and-response moments that add a really distinct layer to our sound, while the foley gives us an unorthodox way to create rhythm, texture, and atmosphere using sounds you wouldn’t necessarily think of as musical.
Our band has given me a lot of things to be proud of, but I’m probably most proud of the community we’ve built through our art. It means a lot to us that people want to come to our shows, listen to our music, and feel like they’re part of something. I’m also very proud that we can use our platform to advocate for the importance of mental health and encourage people to be true to themselves. If our music or our message can make someone feel a little less alone or give them the confidence to be who they are, that’s something I’ll always be proud of.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
The best way to support our work is honestly just to show up and be part of the community we’re building. Come to our shows, buy our DIY merch, stream and share our music, and follow our YouTube. You can also follow us on Instagram to keep up with our art, shows, and release announcements at @sbatbwband.
We’re also always open to collaborating with other artists, musicians, photographers, designers, and creatives who connect with what we’re doing. We really love creating things together and meeting people who bring a different perspective to the project, so reaching out is always welcome. Nothing “great” is made alone.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sbatbwband/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sbatbwband/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sbatbwband
- Other: https://sbatbwband.bandcamp.com/
