The Upcoming Rise of Bellsy

Recently I had the honor of interviewing a very talented Tucson native musician, Bella Crump. You might know her from Playing the Drums in bands such as New Misphoria or when she first started her career by playing with the Stripes. Now Bella has launched her first solo project under the name of “Bellsy.” Below we are going to dive deep into why music is so important to Bella, and what makes her sound unique. 

From a young age, Bella was passionate about music. When she was 13, her parents noticed her obsession with the drummer from the band Nico Vega and encouraged her to play the drums by signing her up for lessons. We all need to give a shoutout to her parents and be grateful to them for that, because now she is gracing us with her amazing sound all over Tucson! Her talent goes beyond the drums; she also plays the guitar. Bella states that she enjoys playing both instruments for different reasons. When she needs to communicate something that’s on her mind, she uses that energy into making music on the guitar. When she needs to release a surge of energy she’ll chose to do so by playing the drums. She verbalizes how she can feel the drums in her body, and the guitar she feels in her mind. All of Bella’s growth has been because of music from her teenage years and forming into a young adult. Music has been her teacher in many ways. It’s helped her look inside and figure herself out as a person.  

Bellsy’s sound is truly one of a kind by bringing a soft, angsty indie-rock vibes to the table. Bellsy likes to think of it as an entire spectrum of “I’m angry, but I’m also tuning into my soft little girl self while mixing all the phases of my life into one”. Her sound encapsulates the experience of growing up as a girl and finding yourself. Music that feels indefinite and timeless is what Bella aims to make. Bella’s first two releases, “Plastic Flowers” and “Temporarily”, are beautiful and emotionally timeless songs. Bella’s favorite part about making music is the emotional release it provides. The best way she can describe it is, “Music is like a psychedelic experience without doing drugs” because music takes her into another world.

With Bellsy being her first solo project, she takes a lot of inspiration from Liz Phair, The Moldy Peaches, and Kimya Dawson. The style of music that Bella loves is songs that are heartfelt and emotional but at the same time are able to incorporate quirky lyrics. Bella’s favorite song of all time is “Birthday” by the Sugarcubes. She tells me that she has fond memories of listening to that song in the car with her dad as a teenager and remembering it as her first “spiritual moment” with music. One of Bella’s dream collaborations would be Karen Carpenter, since Karen is her favorite Musician and singer. Karen has inspired her in so many ways, and she believes they would be best friends if Carpenter were still alive. Bellsy is dreaming big and would also love to collaborate with Bad Bunny. We both laughed as she told me she believes they would “make a sick Spang-lish album together” and eventually end up performing at the Super Bowl together.

With all the inspiration from different artists Bellsy starts her creative process by coming up with vocal melodies as she’s driving in the car, following that lyrics will start to pop into her head. She then applies the idea of her melody and lyrics and sees what she can come up with on guitar, until she finds a sound that feels right to her. Bella loves improvising with her songwriting and is able to utilize whatever comes to her mind. Even though Bellsy is proud of all the projects she has created, it has not always been easy for her. Bella struggled with social anxiety that set her back to a point where she wasn’t sure she could ever make music. She remembers crying through her first drum lesson but decided to keep pushing regardless of how she felt. Despite all her hesitations, music was eventually able to push her out of a socially anxious space. Now she is able to let go of all expectations and create music she is proud of. 

What can you look forward to from Bellsy in 2026? Bellsy is releasing a new single on March 19th called “Mr. Man,” and is also working on her upcoming EP! Want to see Bellsy in action? Well, lucky for you, her next show is March 28th, opening up for Lizzie Oakwood at 191 Toole in Tucson Arizona. Bellsy will also have more shows in Arizona this year. Bella is Grateful for the community she has connected with here in Arizona and is extremely grateful for the support from her family, friends, and peers. Now you may be asking yourself How can I support Local artists? Well, Bellsy is available on all streaming platforms, including Bandcamp. So please don’t forget to support local artists, and Bellsy hopes to see you at her next show!

Article written by: Sara Ramirez

Co-editor: Maya Ramirez