There’s something about a Friday morning in Omaha that calls for good conversation, good music, and a little community soul-searching. This past Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God delivered all three — and then some — with an episode that felt less like a talk show and more like a gathering of neighbors who genuinely care about where they live.
The show opened with reflections on the recent primary elections, a topic that had the chat section buzzing. Viewer Sean McCarthy noted that Douglas County’s average primary voter turnout clocked in at just 35% — a number that clearly weighed on both hosts. Buddy the God didn’t mince words: “None of this really matters if everybody voted… that’s a pretty valid point that kind of none of this, a lot of this, doesn’t matter if everybody voted.” The conversation was a candid reminder that civic participation isn’t optional if you want the community to move forward.
Paul B. used the moment to frame something he calls the “secondary matrix” — the deeper purpose humming beneath the surface of everything the show does. “Everything that we do has a secondary meaning, a deeper meaning,” he explained. “On the surface we’re a couple of talking heads that talk about some news with the community. What we’re really trying to do is build community, build some coalition, be able to speak to — build a family of people that we can regularly talk to and come to some conclusions so we can get to some action.” Viewer Pops resonated with the concept immediately, sharing that he first encountered his own secondary matrix in junior high algebra — and that music, he said, works the same way.
The show also lifted up a few community bright spots worth celebrating: Charell Shelton’s diagnostic lab in North Omaha and Omaha North High School’s nationally recognized engineering program both earned well-deserved shoutouts. These weren’t just feel-good mentions — they fit neatly into the broader theme of the morning, which kept circling back to one idea: what does it look like to build from within?
That question found its fullest expression in the episode’s centerpiece interview with Dana Murray, executive director and founder of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), located right on the storied corner of 24th and Lake Street. A musician who spent 11 years in New York City before returning home to Omaha, Murray has transformed the space formerly known as Love’s Jazz into a youth music academy and performance venue with a mission that goes far beyond teaching scales and chord progressions.
When asked about his vision for the North 24th Street corridor — what Paul B. called “the most important Black corner in Nebraska” — Murray was both clear-eyed and unapologetic. “Really, 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 laid out the nuts and bolts of what a thriving district actually requires: sufficient housing, laundromats, eateries, parking, gas stations, and destination entertainment. A hotel, he noted, would open the door to larger festivals and conferences — bringing the rest of Omaha, and beyond, right to the community’s doorstep.
Murray drew a pointed comparison to how South Omaha handles Cinco de Mayo. “They invite everybody down to be part of it,” he said. “One of the things I’ve tried to do was reach out and be a beacon for all of Omaha to come down to North 24th Street. People told me that was going to be very hard. And people don’t have any problem coming from wherever they are in Omaha or Iowa to come down North 24th Street to hear jazz music.” Viewer Pops added a vivid historical footnote to the moment, recalling that artists like Fats Domino once stayed at Paul B.’s grandfather’s home when they came to perform in the area — proof, he said, that more infrastructure around the corridor would be “a godsend.”
At its core, NMA isn’t just a music school. Murray described it as an economic and human development vehicle — one he deliberately measured against Omaha Performing Arts, which brings in $40 to $50 million in revenue annually for the downtown area. His vision is nothing less than a full NMA campus, with a capital campaign already in the works — its first phase targeting $20 million. “We need a vehicle like that for North Omaha,” he said, “and I see NMA taking up that space.”
But perhaps the most powerful thing Murray said had nothing to do with buildings or budgets. It was about what the academy is really producing. “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.” Students at NMA don’t just learn instruments — they learn live sound, broadcasting, live streaming, and interviewing. “It’s not just teaching them ‘oh you can be this’ — no, you can be this right now.”
On the subject of instructors, Murray was equally clear about what NMA is looking for. Technical skill alone won’t cut it. “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. “They don’t need us for the what; they can go to YouTube and see anything we’re trying to teach them. The instructors we bring in have to have in their arsenal the ability to inspire another human being.” Interested music educators can reach Murray at dmurray@northomahamusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org.
The warmth in the chat section all morning was a show unto itself. Viewer Aeros 402 shared a quiet piece of joy — his only daughter had just given birth to his second granddaughter, and he signed off simply: “I feel blessed.” Viewer Judy Princ offered a piece of wisdom that fit the mood perfectly: “If you are sad or angry, go out and help others. Your attitude will change.” And viewer Senator KML wrapped up the Dana Murray interview with perhaps the most heartfelt line of the morning: “Thank you, Uncle Dana. You’re changing lives in big ways. We are the students.”
Paul B.’s grandmother, it turns out, had it right all along: “Dance is the shortcut to happiness.” On this Love Supreme Friday, so was tuning in.
Catch 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning with Paul B. and Buddy the God next week — your community, your conversation, your morning.
