It was a Love Supreme Friday on the set of 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God made that declaration with purpose. With post-primary emotions still simmering in the community — and more than a little tension spilling over into the show’s online spaces — Paul B. decided early that the energy needed a redirect. “There’s a lot of chatter going on on Friends of First Sky Omaha,” he explained. “There’s a lot of back and forth, friends breaking up, all kinds of stuff happening over politics — and we have to make a decision. It’s going to be Love Supreme Friday today.”
And love supreme it was — but not the passive, look-away kind. This was the roll-up-your-sleeves, build-something-real variety. Viewer Sean McCarthy noted in the chat that Douglas County’s average primary voter turnout hovered around just 35%, a sobering number that framed much of the morning’s conversation. Buddy the God didn’t shy away from it. “None of this really matters if everybody voted,” he said. “It’s the missing piece — as far as people having to fend for themselves — and the reality is until we do that, we’re going to have to keep building our own ecosystems.” He was careful to add that building from within and engaging the broader civic process aren’t mutually exclusive. “We got to do both — build our own ecosystems and continue to do the work, because in the long run we do got to figure this out as a nation.”
Before the show’s featured guest took the virtual seat, the hosts paused to celebrate some significant community wins. Charell Shelton’s company, Core Science Bio Diagnostics, recently took home a $52,000 prize, and Omaha North’s engineering program earned national recognition — exactly the kind of homegrown excellence Paul B. and Buddy love to amplify on a Friday morning.
Then came the conversation the chat had been waiting for. Dana Murray — founder and executive director of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), formerly known as Love’s Jazz — joined the show for a wide-ranging dialogue about music, community, culture, and vision. A South Omaha native who spent eleven years in New York City before coming home, Murray has planted himself firmly on North 24th Street with a mission that runs far deeper than teaching kids to play instruments.
Paul B. framed it well with what he called the “secondary matrix.” “Everything that we do has a secondary meaning, a deeper meaning,” he said. “In Dana Murray’s case, he teaches kids music on the surface — but the secondary matrix is to create critical thinkers who can go further in their fields because they have the discipline and mind-expanding benefits of musical training.” Murray couldn’t have agreed more.
“NMA is obviously a youth music academy, a performance space, and a performance venue,” Murray explained. “We’re not only raising musicians but, more importantly, raising more critical-thinking human beings, because these young kids are not all going to become musicians. Some will become doctors, lawyers, business owners — whatever they choose, they’re going to be better because they were aligned with artistry.”
The academy doesn’t just put instruments in kids’ hands. NMA also runs a broadcast lab where students produce podcasts, conduct interviews, and learn live sound and streaming. “It’s not just telling them they can be something,” Murray said with quiet conviction. “No, they can be it right now.”
The conversation then turned to the bigger picture — what North 24th Street could and should become. Paul B. has long called it “the most important black corner in Nebraska,” and Murray shares that reverence, though he’s candid about the work ahead. “The area that has the most history and the one that can claim ‘we are a cultural and arts district’ for real is the North 24th Street corridor,” he said. “And we’ve been so far removed from that.” He outlined a vision grounded in practical infrastructure — housing, eateries, parking, services — alongside destination attractions like music festivals, conferences, and even a hotel that could anchor larger events right in the heart of the community.
Murray also issued a gentle but pointed challenge to how the community presents itself to the broader city. Pointing to South Omaha’s Cinco de Mayo celebration as a model, he noted that NMA has always tried to be “a beacon for all of Omaha to come down to North 24th Street.” The response, he said, has proven the skeptics wrong. Viewer Pops backed that up with a piece of living history, noting in the chat that artists like Fats Domino once stayed in Paul B.’s grandfather’s home when they came to town to perform — a reminder that the corridor’s legacy as a cultural destination is real and deep.
Looking ahead, Murray announced that NMA is preparing to launch a capital campaign, with a first phase goal of $20 million, aimed at building a full NMA campus. The ambition is unambiguous. “If you think of Omaha Performing Arts and what it means to downtown — not only as a cultural and music entertainment entity, but as an economic vehicle that brings in $40 to $50 million in revenue every year — that’s what we’re building toward for North Omaha,” he said. His underlying message was one the hosts echoed throughout the show: “Our culture is equity. Our artistic genius is equity. The sooner we understand that, the better off we’re going to be.”
Music instructors interested in joining NMA can reach Dana Murray directly at dmurray@northomahamusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org. Murray was clear that NMA is selective — not about credentials alone, but about inspiration. “They don’t need us for the ‘what,'” he said. “The ‘why’ they’re doing it is everything.”
The love didn’t stop at community development. Viewer Aeros 402 shared a beautiful personal note mid-show: “My only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both new and good. I feel blessed.” It was exactly the kind of moment that makes 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning feel less like a show and more like a gathering. Viewer Judy Prince added her own Friday wisdom to the mix: “If you are sad or angry, go out and help others. Your attitude will change.”
The episode closed with mentions of two upcoming community events worth marking on your calendar: the NMA Fest and a Film Streams screening of Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters — two more reasons to get out, get connected, and invest in what Omaha’s creative community is building.
It was, in every sense, a Love Supreme Friday. Tune in Monday morning — you won’t want to miss what comes next.
