Friday mornings on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning have a rhythm all their own, and this past “Love Supreme Friday” was no exception. Hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God opened the show with a deliberate pivot in tone — away from the political noise that has dominated recent weeks and toward something more nourishing. “We’ve been talking a lot of politics for a while and it’s time to change our mindsets over to something else,” Paul B. told viewers. “Use music, use whatever it is that you need to use to get your head straight, get your feelings up, and come together and share that so we can all have that same vibe.”
The live chat was already buzzing with that same energy. Viewer Judy Princ offered a gem early on: “If you are sad or angry, go out and help others. Your attitude will change.” And viewer Aeros 402 brought the room a moment of pure joy, sharing that his only daughter had just given birth to his second granddaughter — “They are both new and good. I feel blessed.” It was exactly the kind of warmth the hosts were calling for, and the morning leaned right into it.
Still, civic matters were never far from the conversation. With primary election results fresh, Buddy the God pressed the importance of voter participation with characteristic directness. “None of that really matters if the people don’t vote,” he said. “Even down to the Supreme Court decision, those maps and that data are still based on who’s registered, who’s of age, and actually who comes out to vote.” Viewer Kimber Snipes added important texture to that conversation, noting that in her talks with people between the ages of 20 and 35, “most of them don’t really know what to do and know nothing about the candidates.” She pushed back gently on the impulse to shame non-voters, arguing instead for “more education and deep dive discussions” — a point the hosts took seriously.
The heart of the episode, though, belonged to the morning’s featured guest: Dana Murray, founder and director of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), located on the historic North 24th Street corridor. A musician and educator originally from South Omaha, Murray spent eleven years in New York City before returning home to plant something lasting. What he’s building at NMA is, by any measure, remarkable.
“NMA is obviously a youth music academy, a performance space, and a performance venue,” Murray explained. But he was quick to frame it in bigger terms — invoking Omaha Performing Arts as a model, noting that institution generates $40 to $50 million in annual revenue for its district. “We’re not only raising musicians, but more importantly we’re raising more critical thinking human beings,” he said. “Some of these young kids will become doctors, lawyers, business owners — whatever they choose to do, they’re going to be better because they were aligned with artistry.”
Beyond instrument instruction, NMA offers students hands-on experience in live sound production, broadcasting, podcasting, and live-stream operation — skills with real-world career pathways. Murray described a broadcast lab where students interview visiting artists, turning abstract possibility into present-tense reality. “It’s not just teaching them, oh, you can be this — no, you can be this right now,” he said. “If you give kids context, they connect the dots for themselves, and then you’ve got a critical thinking human.”
Murray’s vision for North 24th Street — affectionately known as “the Deuce” — is sweeping and practical in equal measure. He laid out the infrastructure requirements for a true cultural district with the fluency of someone who has studied it deeply: sufficient housing, parking, eateries, places of service, and destination entertainment. He even made the case for a hotel, arguing that overnight accommodation is the gateway to larger festivals and conferences held right in the community. “A lot of stuff on North 24th Street wasn’t sustainable,” he said plainly. “Unless those metrics are there, it doesn’t matter.”
He also challenged a certain possessiveness that he believes has limited the corridor’s reach. Though he grew up in South Omaha, Murray said that for Black Omahans of his generation, North 24th Street was “the Mecca for all of us.” He expressed admiration for Native Omaha Days at its core while calling it “a failed opportunity to showcase our culture because it doesn’t invite the rest of Omaha to partake in what we have to offer.” NMA, he said, has deliberately served as a beacon for all of Omaha — and the response has proven that the perceived taboo about the area was never real. “People don’t have any problem coming from wherever they are to hear jazz music or whatever we present.”
Looking ahead, Murray announced that NMA is preparing to launch a capital campaign — with a first phase of $20 million — aimed at building a full NMA campus. His framing was both visionary and grounded: “Money is not our issue in North Omaha. It’s transformative ideas that are going to allow us to be not only sustainable but gainfully active. What we have to sell in most black communities is our culture. The sooner we understand that our culture is equity, that our brilliance and artistic genius is equity, the better off we’re going to be.”
Viewer Pops captured the room’s sentiment beautifully: “I love this interview. This brother’s vibe is so cool and his intentions are admirable. First Sky loves the kids.” Paul B. echoed that feeling when turning to the upcoming NMA Fest — a four-night music festival that includes bassist and Prince collaborator Mono Neon on the bill. “This is one not to miss and you probably better get them early because I think it’s going to sell out,” Paul B. said. “When I’m comparing festivals, I’m saying this one to me is the one.”
The show closed on a concept Paul B. called the “secondary matrix” — the idea that within broken or indifferent larger systems, communities can build their own self-sustaining ecosystems. He used Murray’s work as a prime example. “In Dana Murray’s case, he teaches kids music — on the surface that’s what it is. But the secondary matrix is to create critical thinkers, people that can go further in their fields because they have the discipline of musical training and the mind-expanding benefits of that training.” He named other local organizations operating in that same spirit, from Core Science Bio Diagnostics to Heart Ministry Center — quiet pillars doing the daily work of community building.
It was, all in all, the kind of Friday morning that reminds you why community media matters. If you missed it, tune in next week — 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning airs live, and the conversation is always worth showing up for.
