It was a Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God brought exactly the kind of energy that name promises — thoughtful, joyful, and deeply rooted in community. From reflecting on Nebraska’s recent primary results to a wide-ranging conversation about the future of North 24th Street, Season 4’s 53rd episode was one for the books.
The show opened with Paul B. and Buddy the God weighing in on the state of civic engagement following the primary. Paul B. didn’t mince words, reading from a post by Raquel Henderson of the mayor’s office to drive home the point: “Posting on Facebook is not enough. Awareness without action changes nothing.” It set the tone for a show that was less about hand-wringing and more about rolling up sleeves.
Threading through the whole morning was a concept Paul B. called the “secondary matrix” — the deeper purpose hiding just beneath the surface of any meaningful community effort. “Everything that we do has a secondary meaning, a deeper meaning,” he said, using music education as the prime example. The idea clearly resonated with the chat room. Viewer Pops reflected, “I experienced my secondary matrix in junior high when I took algebra. I noticed I was suddenly able to think outside the box on several different levels. Music the same.”
Buddy the God connected that thread to the season’s overarching theme, “Follow the Money,” framing community investment as something that has to look beyond the present moment: “Not just building a system that works in tandem as far as 24th, but that looks forward and builds the next generation and wants that generation to come back and generate another generation.”
The heart of the morning, though, belonged to guest Dana Murray, founder and director of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA) on North 24th Street. A South Omaha native who spent eleven years in New York City before coming home, Murray has been teaching music in Omaha for two decades — and his vision for what NMA can become is nothing short of transformative.
Murray spoke candidly about the untapped potential of the North 24th Street corridor, often called “the Deuce.” “The North 24th Street corridor is the area in Omaha that can legitimately claim to be a cultural and arts district,” he said, “but a lot of the community within has lost touch with the power of what that corridor once was.” His prescription for revival was practical: sufficient housing, services, parking, eateries — and, crucially, destinations. A hotel, he argued, would be transformative, making it possible to host larger music festivals and conferences right in the heart of the community.
That point hit close to home for Paul B., who shared a personal story about his great-grandfather hosting Black artists on North 24th Street during the segregation era — performers who couldn’t stay in downtown hotels and instead lodged with families on the Deuce. The echo into the present was impossible to miss: NMA Fest artists still need those accommodations today. Viewer Pops chimed in from the chat: “Artists like Fats Domino used to stay at your grandfather’s home when he came to town to perform. So yes, more infrastructure for the artist around the Deuce corridor would be a godsend.”
Murray was equally direct about something that doesn’t always get said out loud: the self-limiting narratives that hold the corridor back. As a South Omaha native working on North 24th, he’s navigated those boundaries firsthand. “One thing that holds us back is a false sense of pride around North Omaha that doesn’t actually do anything for us at this point,” he said. He pointed to South Omaha’s Cinco de Mayo celebration as a model of cultural confidence — championing identity while inviting the whole city in. NMA, he said, has tried to be exactly that kind of beacon. “That taboo about the area not being an attraction was simply false.”
At NMA, music instruction is only the beginning. Students learn live sound engineering, broadcast production, podcasting, and how to conduct artist interviews — doing the work in real time, not just talking about it someday. History is woven in deliberately, too. “We’re not just telling kids that Buddy Miles is from here,” Murray explained. “We’re teaching who he was, what he represented for the community and for the world. If you give kids context, they connect the dots for themselves.” The goal, he said plainly, is not to produce musicians — it’s to produce critical thinkers. “Not every kid is going to become a musician — some will become doctors, lawyers, business owners — but they’re going to be better at whatever they choose because they were aligned with artistry.”
Murray also unveiled an ambitious next chapter: a $20 million first-phase capital campaign to build an NMA campus. His model is Omaha Performing Arts, which he described as generating $40 to $50 million in revenue annually for its surrounding area. “Our culture is equity. Our artistic genius is equity,” he said. “The sooner we understand that and build around it, the better off we’re going to be.” Viewer Senator KML summed up the sentiment in the chat simply: “Thank you, Uncle Dana. You’re changing lives in big ways. We are the students.”
For anyone inspired to get involved, Murray noted that NMA is currently seeking music instructors with a very specific quality — not just technical skill, but the ability to inspire. Interested candidates can reach him at dmurray@northomahamusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org.
The show also made room for community celebrations. Viewer Aeros402 shared a beautiful personal note: “My only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both new and good. I feel blessed.” Congratulations from the whole 1st Sky family on that new arrival.
Buddy the God closed the morning the way every good Friday show should end — with a challenge and an open door: “Get in where you fit in. The lanes are running. The lanes are wide open. Just get in where you fit in and make it happen.”
If this Friday is any indication, the lanes on North 24th Street — and across Omaha — are wider than ever. Don’t miss next week’s show to find out what’s coming next.
