It was a Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God brought the kind of conversation that makes you want to pull up a chair and stay awhile. From the aftermath of Nebraska’s primary election to the future of North 24th Street, the show was a full hour of community love, honest reflection, and serious vision-casting for Omaha’s North Side.
The show opened with the hosts weighing in on Tuesday’s primary results — and the sobering turnout numbers that came with them. Viewer Raquel Henderson put it plainly in the chat: “Only 339,000 out of more than 1.2 million registered voters in Nebraska showed up yesterday. Think about that for a second. And yet everybody has something to say. Everybody’s angry. Everybody’s debating policies and leadership decisions online. Where is that same energy when it’s time to organize, educate, mobilize, register, and actually vote?” It was a message that landed. Buddy the God acknowledged the tension between building from within and engaging the broader political system. “We got to do both,” he said. “We have to build our own ecosystems and continue to do the things that we’re about to talk about, but in the long run we do got to figure this out as far as a nation.”
Viewer Sean McCarthy offered a structural critique from the chat: “One huge problem is so many of these positions don’t pay a living wage. So only those who can afford to hold those positions run.” It was exactly the kind of practical, ground-level observation that the First Sky audience brings to the table every week.
But the heart of the morning belonged to the guest interview. Dana Murray, founder of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA) — formerly known as Love’s Jazz — joined the hosts for a wide-ranging, deeply grounded conversation about music, community, culture, and economic power. Murray, a musician who spent eleven years in New York City before returning home to Omaha, is building something on North 24th Street that he hopes will one day rival what Omaha Performing Arts means to downtown.
“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, $45, $50 million in revenue every year — that’s what we’re building for North Omaha,” Murray said. And he’s not thinking small. NMA’s first-phase capital campaign is set at $20 million, with a full campus as the long-term vision.
Paul B. has long held a particular reverence for that stretch of the city. “I’ve always called it the most important black corner in Nebraska,” he said of the North 24th Street corridor. Murray agreed, and he didn’t sugarcoat the challenges. He pushed back on what he called a “false sense of security with pride” that sometimes keeps the community from capitalizing on what it has. He pointed to Native Omaha Days as an example of a missed opportunity. “At every opportunity, we fail at taking advantage of showcasing our culture,” he said. “None of that is trying to invite the rest of Omaha down to partake in what we have to offer.”
His vision for the corridor is holistic — housing, services, parking, eateries, entertainment destinations, and yes, eventually a hotel large enough to host festivals and conferences right in the community. “What we have to sell in most black communities is our culture,” Murray said. “The sooner we understand that our culture is equity, that our brilliance and our artistic genius is equity, the better off we’re going to be.”
At its core, though, NMA is about young people. Murray was clear that not every student who walks through the doors will become a musician — and that’s entirely the point. “We’re not only raising musicians, but more importantly we’re raising more critical thinking human beings,” he said. “Whatever they choose to do, they’re going to be better because they were aligned with artistry.” Paul B. echoed that sentiment, describing what he called the “secondary matrix” of music education: “The secondary matrix for him is to create critical thinkers — create people that can go further in their fields because they have the discipline of musical training and the mind-expanding benefits of musical training.”
Viewer Pops connected with that idea personally from the chat: “I experienced my secondary matrix in junior high when I took algebra. I was gaining proficiency and noticed I was suddenly able to think outside the box on several different levels. Music the same.” Pops also offered a piece of living history: “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 candid about meeting young people where they are in 2026. “Most of their learning comes from Google, ChatGPT, YouTube, Instagram, things going viral. That’s their world,” he said. “We have to figure out how to inspire them within the world that they live in.” NMA’s approach, he explained, is to build tactics and processes that illuminate what works for each student rather than pushing an antiquated curriculum on a generation that can find the technical “what” anywhere online. “Unless you’re able to inspire a young person, they don’t really have the attention span for the X’s and O’s of music,” he said. “The why you’re doing it is everything.”
Music instructors interested in joining the NMA team can reach Dana Murray directly at dmurray@northomahamusic.org or contact his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org.
The show also took a moment to celebrate several other community wins: entrepreneur Charell Shelton’s new diagnostic lab, Omaha North High School’s nationally recognized engineering program, and Heart Ministry Center’s forthcoming grocery store — all bright spots in a community that is clearly building with intention. And on a purely joyful note, viewer Aeros 402 shared some beautiful news from the chat: “On a love note, my only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both new and good. I feel blessed.” The whole chat erupted in congratulations — a reminder that community is built one family at a time, too.
It was, from start to finish, the kind of Friday morning that sends you into the weekend feeling like Omaha is worth fighting for. Tune in Monday morning and join the conversation — First Sky is always saved for you.
