Friday morning felt a little different on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning — and that was entirely by design. Hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God declared it a “Love Supreme Friday,” a deliberate shift in energy after weeks of heavy political coverage following the Nebraska primary. “We’ve been talking a lot of politics for a while and it’s time for a break,” Paul B. told viewers. “We’re going to change our mindsets over to something else — living alive with one another, celebrating life, art, and everything else.”
That didn’t mean the political moment went unacknowledged. Paul B. cited figures from Raquel Henderson at the mayor’s office showing that only 339,000 of Nebraska’s more than 1.2 million registered voters cast ballots in the recent primary. “Posting on Facebook is not enough,” he said plainly. “Awareness without action changes nothing.” Viewer Sean McCarthy added context from the chat, noting that Douglas County’s primary turnout hovered around 35 percent — and offered a structural observation that resonated: “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.”
But true to the spirit of the morning, the conversation quickly turned toward building — building community, building culture, and building the next generation. Buddy the God framed it well: “We got to do both — build our own ecosystems and continue the political work. In the long run, we do got to figure this out as a nation, but for now there are other things we got to figure out as far as how we can do for ourselves.”
The show also paused to celebrate some homegrown wins. The hosts highlighted Charell Shelton’s diagnostic lab earning a $52,000 prize, cheered Omaha North’s nationally recognized engineering program, and flagged the upcoming screening of Boots Riley’s film I Love Boosters at Film Streams as a must-attend cultural event. Viewer Judy Prince captured the morning’s generous spirit simply: “If you are sad or angry, go out and help others. Your attitude will change.”
The centerpiece of the episode was a rich, wide-ranging conversation with Dana Murray, executive director and founder of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA) — formerly known as Love’s Jazz — located right on the North 24th Street corridor. Murray, a musician and educator who spent 11 years in New York City before returning home to Omaha, is building something that goes well beyond a music school.
“NMA is a youth music academy, a performance space, and a performance venue,” Murray explained. “Think of what Omaha Performing Arts means to downtown — not just as a cultural entity, but as an economic vehicle that brings in $40 to $50 million in revenue every year.” His vision for NMA is nothing less than that kind of anchor institution for North Omaha — and he’s already planning a capital campaign with a first phase of $20 million to get there.
What makes NMA distinct is how broadly it defines education. Beyond instrument lessons, students learn live sound engineering, live streaming, broadcast production, and podcasting — working in a real broadcast lab where they even conduct interviews with visiting artists. “It’s not just telling them they can be something,” Murray said. “It’s having them be it right now.” The curriculum also teaches the legacy of local legends like Buddy Miles and Preston Love Sr. — not just name-dropping, but genuine cultural context. “If you give kids context,” Murray said, “they connect the dots themselves and start to see how they can be impactful.”
Paul B. connected this to what he calls the “secondary matrix” — the deeper layer of purpose beneath the surface mission. “In Dana Murray’s case, he teaches kids music, but the secondary matrix is to create critical thinkers who can go further in their fields because they have the discipline and mind-expanding benefits of musical training.” Murray echoed that completely: “These young kids are not all going to become musicians — some will become doctors, lawyers, business owners — but whatever they choose, they’re going to be better at it because they were aligned with artistry.”
Murray was equally candid about the challenges facing North 24th Street — a corridor Paul B. has long called “the most important Black corner in Nebraska.” Murray spoke frankly about what it takes to sustain a cultural district: adequate housing, services, parking, grocery access, entertainment destinations, and eventually a hotel capable of hosting large festivals and conferences. “A lot of things on North 24th Street have come and gone because they weren’t sustainable,” he said. “The X’s and O’s have to make sense.”
He also challenged some of the cultural insularity that he believes has held the corridor back, pointing to South Omaha’s Cinco de Mayo celebration as a model: “They champion their culture and invite everybody.” Murray has tried to do the same with NMA, and the results have spoken for themselves. “That taboo about the area being an attraction was false. We’ve proven it.”
At the heart of it all, Murray returned to a single powerful idea: “What we have to sell in most Black communities is our culture, and if we don’t monetize it ourselves, the rest of the country will. The sooner we understand that our culture is equity — that our artistic genius is equity — the better off we’re going to be.”
Viewer Pops summed up what many in the chat were feeling: “I love this interview. This brother’s vibe is so cool and his intentions are admirable. First Sky loves the kids.” And in a touching moment that bookended the morning perfectly, viewer Aeros 402 (Mary Sanchez) shared her own love supreme: “My only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both new and good. I feel blessed.”
NMA is currently seeking music instructors who can do more than teach technique — they’re looking for people who can inspire. Interested educators can reach Dana Murray at dmurray@northomahmusic.org or assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahmusic.org.
It was the kind of Friday morning that reminded you why local community television still matters — a place where big ideas meet real people, and where North Omaha’s future gets talked about with the seriousness and love it deserves. Join Paul B., Buddy the God, and the whole First Sky family back on Monday morning for more of the same.
