It was a “Love Supreme Friday” on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and the energy in the virtual studio matched the name. Hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God welcomed a guest whose work sits right at the intersection of music, education, and community renewal — Dana Murray, founder and executive director of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA). Before the conversation was over, the chat was lighting up, the ideas were flowing, and it was clear this was one of those mornings that reminds you why local television still matters.
But first, the hosts didn’t shy away from the week’s harder headlines. Nebraska’s midterm primaries had just wrapped up, and the numbers weren’t flattering. Paul B. laid it out plainly: “Only 339,000 out of more than 1.2 million registered voters in Nebraska showed up. And yet everybody has something to say. Everybody’s angry. Everybody’s debating policies online. Where is that same energy when it’s time to organize, educate, mobilize, register, and actually vote?” Viewer Kimber Snipes offered a thoughtful counterpoint in 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 back-and-forth that made the conversation feel less like a broadcast and more like a town hall.
Buddy the God brought a both/and perspective to the civic engagement debate. “We got to do both — build our own ecosystems and continue to do the political work. We got to do both in the now,” he said. That idea of building from within set the table perfectly for the morning’s featured guest.
Dana Murray carries himself with the quiet confidence of someone who has spent decades in rooms where music gets made and young people get changed. Originally from South Omaha, Murray spent eleven years in New York City before returning to his adopted home city — and to North 24th Street specifically — with a mission. What was once known as Love’s Jazz is now the North Omaha Music Academy, a youth music academy, performance space, and broadcast lab all rolled into one. And Murray has much bigger plans.
“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 to $50 million in revenue every year — that’s what we want to be for North Omaha,” Murray said. “We’re not only raising musicians, but more importantly, we’re raising more critical thinking human beings.”
Paul B. connected that idea to what he called his “secondary matrix” concept. “Everything that we do has a secondary meaning, a deeper meaning,” he explained. “Dana Murray teaches kids music on the surface, but the secondary matrix is creating critical thinkers.” It’s a frame that redefines arts education not as a luxury, but as infrastructure — every bit as essential as a road or a water line.
Murray was candid about the challenges facing the North 24th Street corridor — what longtime Omahans affectionately call “the Deuce.” “A lot of the community within is so far removed from what that was that it is hard to build momentum from within,” he acknowledged. But he also pushed back against a particular kind of insularity he sees holding North Omaha back. “At every opportunity, we fail at taking advantage of showcasing our culture and highlighting our excellence,” he said. “I’ve tried to reach out and be a beacon for all of Omaha to come down to North 24th Street, and people don’t have any problem coming from wherever they are in Omaha or Iowa to hear jazz music or whatever we present.”
Viewer Pops jumped in with a piece of living history to underscore the point: “Yes, Paul — 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.” Paul B. has long called North 24th Street “the most important Black corner in Nebraska,” and moments like that reminder make it easy to understand why.
Looking ahead, Murray revealed that NMA is preparing to launch a capital campaign — with an initial phase targeting $20 million — aimed at eventually building a full NMA campus. He framed the vision in terms that were both economic and deeply cultural. “Our artistic genius is equity,” he said. “Every music in America has been built off of our experience, from the hardest rock music to the jazziest jazz — you trace it all the way back to the music that was brought over from Africa. The sooner we look at it as equity to build and monetize for our community, the better we’re going to be.”
For music educators who want to be part of what NMA is building, Murray made the ask simple and direct: reach out to him at dmurray@northomahamusic.org or to assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org. The only requirement, beyond technical skill, is the ability to inspire. “They don’t need us for the ‘what’ — they can go to YouTube and see anything we’re trying to teach them,” Murray said. “The ‘why’ they’re doing it is everything.”
The show closed on a high note — literally and figuratively. Viewer Senator KML summed up the sentiment in the chat simply and warmly: “Thank you, Uncle Dana. You’re changing lives in big ways. We are the students.” And viewer Aeros 402 brought the love full circle on this Love Supreme Friday with news that his daughter had just given birth to his second granddaughter — proof that even on mornings filled with big civic conversations, there’s always room for the most important news of all.
It was the kind of morning that leaves you proud to be an Omahan. Tune in next week for more of the conversations that matter most to this community — right here on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning.
