It was a Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God brought the energy — and the substance — to close out the week. From the ripple effects of Nebraska’s midterm primary elections to a deeply inspiring conversation about music, youth, and the future of North Omaha’s most storied corridor, Episode 53 of Season 4 gave listeners plenty to carry into the weekend.
The show opened with the hosts reflecting on civic engagement in the wake of the primaries, and neither man was in the mood for half-measures. Paul B. was direct: “Posting on Facebook is not enough. Awareness without action changes nothing.” Viewer Kimber Snipes added an important layer to that conversation from the chat, writing, “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 nuanced pushback that makes the 1st Sky chat one of the most engaged in local media.
Buddy the God brought his trademark clarity to the bigger picture: “We got to do both — build our own ecosystems and continue to figure out the political structure we’re a part of, whether you want to be engaged in it or not.” Paul B. also took a moment to explain what he calls the “secondary matrix” — the deeper mission running beneath the surface of the show itself. “Everything that we do has a secondary meaning, a deeper meaning,” he said. “The primary matrix is us on this show — talking heads talking about the news. The secondary matrix is when we got chat chimers and people going to the towers and really talking to folks and us trying to raise some funds to make those things happen.” Viewer Pops connected with the concept personally, noting, “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.”
And on the subject of music — that’s where the show truly soared.
The centerpiece of Friday’s episode was a rich, wide-ranging conversation with Dana Murray, founder and director of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), located on North 24th Street. A South Omaha native who spent eleven years honing his craft in New York City before coming home, Murray has quietly been building something extraordinary — and the 1st Sky audience got to hear the full vision.
Murray described NMA not simply as a music school, but as a transformative institution with the potential to reshape North Omaha the way Omaha Performing Arts has shaped downtown. “Think of what Omaha Performing Arts means to downtown — not only as a cultural entity but as an economic vehicle that brings in $40 to $50 million in revenue every year,” he said. “We’re not only raising musicians but more importantly we’re raising more critical thinking human beings.” His point was well taken: not every kid who walks through NMA’s doors will become a professional musician. But every one of them, he argued, will be better for the experience — more curious, more accountable, more capable of setting a high bar for themselves.
What sets NMA apart is how it puts that philosophy into practice. Beyond instruments, students learn live sound engineering, broadcasting, podcasting, and interview skills — and they don’t just learn about it someday in the abstract. “It’s not just telling them, ‘oh, you can be this someday’ — no, you can be this right now,” Murray said. “Once you remove those barriers, the sky’s the limit.”
Murray’s vision for the North 24th Street corridor — affectionately known as the Deuce — was equally compelling. He spoke candidly about what sustainable redevelopment actually requires: housing, services, parking, restaurants, entertainment destinations, and yes, even a hotel to attract larger events and conferences. “There’s been a whole lot of stuff on North 24th Street that wasn’t sustainable,” he said. “I can’t get caught up in the emotion of the redevelopment — the X’s and O’s have to make sense.”
He also pushed back on what he sees as a missed opportunity in how the community presents itself to the broader city. Pointing to South Omaha’s Cinco de Mayo celebration as a model, Murray argued that North Omaha’s cultural wealth — its music, its history, its artistic genius — needs to be shared, not siloed. “Our culture is equity. Our artistic genius is equity. Every music in America has been built off of our experience,” he said. “The sooner we look at it not as a cool little music thing but as equity to build and monetize for our community, the better we’re going to be.”
Paul B. didn’t hold back his enthusiasm for what Murray and NMA are building, saying of NMA Fest: “When I’m comparing festivals, I’m saying this one to me is the one. If I was going to put a festival together, it’d be this — and it’s going to be huge.” He added with characteristic conviction: “I’ve always called it the most important black corner in Nebraska — and we have to be of service to it.” Viewer Pops reinforced that history 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.”
NMA is currently seeking music instructors who bring more than technical skill to the table. As Murray put it, “Unless you’re able to inspire a young person, they don’t have the attention span for it. The why of doing it is everything.” Interested educators can reach Murray directly at dmurray@northomahahusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahahusic.org.
The show closed on a warm note — as Love Supreme Fridays tend to do. Viewer Aeros 402 shared a beautiful personal moment mid-show, writing, “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 stopped to celebrate that one. And viewer Pops sent the week off right: “Thanks for another great week of shows. You and the Chat Chimers have made First Sky a true pillar in the community.”
Hard to argue with that. Tune in Monday morning for another edition of 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning — your community, your conversation, your show.
