Yes, sounds like a great project for python. If you use ESP8266 or similar instead of arduino you can do the MCU code with python too. I have a lot of wemos D1 clones running MQTT with micropython. These cheap ones, for example, but there's certainly a lot more powerful versions available if you need some real processing power too.

There are different types and brands. I typically get the D1 mini clones like this. There's also the ESP32 which is similar but more powerful, though it'd be overkill for your project (though good to know if you get the bug and start building other projects)

WLED homepage and the sub is /r/wled