It was a “Love Supreme Friday” on the set of 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God made good on that promise — setting aside the week’s political noise to make room for something that felt, frankly, like a deep breath of fresh air. The guest at the center of it all was Dana Murray, director of the North Omaha Music Academy, and by the time the conversation wrapped up, it was clear this was one of those episodes that lingers with you long after the stream ends.
Paul B. set the tone right out of the gate. “We’ve been talking a lot of politics for a while and it’s time to change our mindsets over to something else — it’s going to be Love Supreme Friday today,” he told viewers. And while the show did briefly pause to acknowledge the sobering results of Nebraska’s primary election — with just 339,000 of more than 1.2 million registered voters showing up to the polls — the heart of the morning belonged to music, community, and vision.
Viewer Kimber Snipes offered a thoughtful take 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 comment that reminds you why community conversations matter — and why platforms like this one exist.
But the morning’s real momentum came from Dana Murray, a South Omaha native who spent eleven years in New York City before coming home to Omaha, where he has now spent two decades teaching music and building something remarkable on North 24th Street. The North Omaha Music Academy — NMA — is, on the surface, a youth music academy and performance venue. But as both Murray and Paul B. were quick to explain, the surface is only the beginning.
“The arts are the core of who we are as people — definitely as black people — and the history of North Omaha and really Omaha as a whole,” Murray said. “With a lot of the development going on infrastructure-wise, there’s very little talked about the social, people development, and healing that has to happen to even take advantage of all the opportunities.”
Paul B. put it his own way, describing what he called the “secondary matrix” of NMA’s work: “In Dana Murray’s case, he teaches kids music on the surface — but the secondary matrix is to create critical thinkers, people that can go further in their fields because of the discipline and mind-expanding benefits of musical training.” Murray didn’t disagree. “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.”
Beyond traditional instrument instruction, NMA offers students hands-on experience in live sound engineering, broadcast production, podcasting, and even conducting interviews with visiting artists. “So it’s not just telling them they can be this someday,” Murray said. “No, you can be this right now. Once you remove those barriers, sky’s the limit.”
The conversation turned to the bigger picture — the vision for North 24th Street itself, a corridor both men clearly hold dear. Paul B. called it “the most important black corner in Nebraska,” and Murray didn’t pull any punches about the work that remains. “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.” His vision includes not just music and entertainment, but the full infrastructure of a self-sustaining community destination: housing, services, restaurants, and yes — even a hotel, which he sees as the key to unlocking larger festivals and conferences right in the heart of the neighborhood.
Viewer Pops added a beautiful personal note to that thread: “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.” History has a way of showing up right when you need it.
Murray also addressed something that doesn’t always get said plainly: the untapped economic power of Black culture itself. “Our culture is equity,” he said. “Our brilliance, our artistic genius is equity. Every music in America has been built off of our experience, and the sooner we look at it as equity to build and monetize for our community, the better we’re going to be.” It landed like a challenge and an invitation all at once.
As for what’s next, Murray confirmed that NMA is nowhere near its final form. A capital campaign with a first phase goal of $20 million is on the horizon, with the long-term dream of a full NMA campus — a North Omaha answer to what Omaha Performing Arts has done for downtown. NMA is also actively seeking music instructors with one very specific qualification. “Unless you’re able to inspire a young person, they don’t have the attention span for the X’s and O’s of music,” Murray said. Interested instructors can reach him at dmurray@northomahamusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahamusic.org.
Viewer Senator KML summed up the feeling in the chat simply and powerfully: “Thank you, Uncle Dana. You’re changing lives in big ways. We are the students.”
On a morning that began with a conscious choice to lead with love, 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning delivered exactly that — a reminder that community is built note by note, lesson by lesson, and conversation by conversation. Don’t miss what’s coming next week.
