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 energy that makes you want to linger over your coffee a little longer. From a fresh look at the Nebraska primary results to a deeply inspiring conversation about music, youth, and the future of North 24th Street, Episode 53 of Season 4 was exactly what this city needed heading into the weekend.
The show opened with the hosts reflecting on civic engagement in the wake of the recent primary — a topic that clearly hit close to home. Buddy the God didn’t mince words: “None of that really matters if the people don’t vote,” he said, noting that even gerrymandered maps are shaped by who registers and who actually shows up. Viewer Kimber Snipes added a nuanced take to the conversation from the chat: “I’ve been having conversations with people between the ages of 20 and 35. What I hear the most is most of them don’t really know what to do and know nothing about the candidates. I don’t think we should be slamming people for not voting when the system is really what has caused this. I think we need to have more education and deep dive discussions.” It was the kind of honest, layered exchange that sets 1st Sky apart from your average morning show.
But the heart of the morning — and arguably the soul of the entire episode — was the conversation with Dana Murray, executive director and founder of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), located right on the North 24th Street corridor. A South Omaha native who spent eleven years in New York City before returning home, Murray arrived with a vision as clear as a well-tuned horn and a passion that filled every corner of the broadcast.
Paul B. set the stage beautifully, introducing what he called the “secondary matrix” — the idea that everything done publicly or artistically carries a deeper intention beneath the surface. “The secondary matrix for him is to create critical thinkers,” Paul B. said of Murray, “create people that can go further in their fields because they have the discipline of musical training.” That framing proved to be the perfect lens through which to understand everything Murray shared.
And Murray delivered. When asked about his vision for the North 24th Street corridor — affectionately called “the Deuce” — he spoke with the precision of someone who has thought about this for a long time. “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, before laying out what true revitalization would require: housing, services, parking, eateries — and destinations. “It would be great to have a hotel. With a hotel, now you can throw larger attractions, music festivals, conferences right in the community.”
Murray also pushed back gently on a certain kind of insider pride that he believes has slowed the corridor’s momentum. He spoke warmly of events like Native Omaha Days but called them “a failed opportunity to showcase our culture because none of that is trying to invite the rest of Omaha down to partake in what we have to offer.” His own experience proved the point: “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. That taboo about the area and its ability to be an attraction was false. We’ve proven that.”
Viewer Pops chimed in from the chat with a personal memory that added beautiful texture to the moment: “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.” History, it seems, has always been on this block’s side.
At NMA, Murray and his team are doing far more than teaching scales and chord progressions. The academy offers electives in live sound engineering, broadcasting, podcasting, and live-streaming — giving young people real, working skills alongside their instruments. “It’s not just telling them, ‘Oh, you can be this,'” Murray said. “No — you can be this right now. Once you remove those barriers, the sky’s the limit.”
He also spoke movingly about the stakes of cultural ownership — a theme that resonated deeply with the hosts. “Every music in America has been built off of our experience,” Murray said. “You trace it all the way back to the music that was brought over here from Africa. And that’s equity. The sooner we look at it not as ‘oh, that’s a cool little music thing’ — no, this is equity for us to build and monetize for our community, the better we’re going to be.”
Looking ahead, Murray shared that NMA is preparing to launch a capital campaign with a first phase goal of $20 million, with the long-term ambition of building a full NMA campus that could serve North Omaha the way Omaha Performing Arts serves downtown. “Money is not our issue really in North Omaha,” he said plainly. “It’s transformative ideas that are going to allow us to be not only sustainable but gainfully active.” NMA is also currently seeking music instructors who can do more than teach technique — they need people who can inspire. Interested educators can reach Murray at dmurray@northomahamusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org.
The show also celebrated several community wins worth knowing about. Charell Shelton’s diagnostic lab recently earned award recognition. Heart Ministry Center is moving forward with an upcoming community grocery store. And the film I Love Boosters will be screening at Film Streams on May 22nd — mark your calendars.
The morning closed on a note of warmth and perspective. Paul B. reached back to his grandmother’s wisdom — “Dance is the shortcut to happiness” — encouraging listeners to find joy even in uncertain times. Viewer Aeros 402 gave everyone a reason to smile when he shared, “My only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both new and good. I feel blessed.” And Buddy the God tied it all together with the season’s central truth: “We got to do both — 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.”
That’s 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning — honest, grounded, and always pointing toward something better. Join Paul B., Buddy the God, and the whole Chat Chimers community next week for another conversation worth waking up early for.
