It was a Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God were in full community mode. With the Nebraska primary elections freshly in the rearview mirror, the show shifted gears from politics to purpose — celebrating culture, coalition building, and the kind of grassroots vision that quietly changes cities from the inside out.
“We’ve been talking a lot of politics for a while, and we got a little break after the primaries,” Paul B. said with a smile in his voice. “Love Supreme’s going down today for sure.” And it did — from the opening conversation to the final sign-off, the episode felt like a front-porch gathering of neighbors who genuinely believe Omaha’s best days are still ahead.
The chat room was already buzzing with warmth before the first guest arrived. Viewer Aeros 402 set a beautiful tone early: “On a love note, my only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both doing well. I feel blessed.” That kind of joy — real, personal, community — was the undercurrent of the entire show.
Paul B. took time to unpack what he calls the “secondary matrix” — the idea that everything we do carries a deeper meaning beneath the surface. Viewer Pops echoed the concept from personal experience: “I experienced my secondary matrix in junior high when I took algebra. I noticed I was suddenly able to think outside the box on several different levels. Music the same.” It was the perfect setup for the morning’s centerpiece conversation.
The guest was Dana Murray, founder of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), and from the moment he started talking, it was clear this was someone with both a blueprint and a fire. A musician who spent eleven years in New York City before returning home, Murray has planted himself firmly on North 24th Street — “the Deuce” — with a vision that is anything but small.
“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,” Murray said. “And we’ve been so far removed from that. A lot of the community within can’t relate to the power of what was.” He laid out the metrics of a thriving district — housing, services, eateries, transportation, destinations — and dared to dream out loud about a hotel on the corridor that could anchor music festivals and conferences right in the heart of the community.
Murray, who grew up in South Omaha, pushed back gently on any notion that geography should limit who gets to invest in North Omaha’s future. “If you’re Black and you’re in Omaha, especially in the 70s and early 80s, everyone had a shared relationship with North Omaha,” he said. “That was the Mecca for us.” He pointed to South Omaha’s Cinco de Mayo celebration as a model worth studying — a festival rooted in cultural pride that throws open the doors to the entire city. “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 to come hear jazz music. That taboo about the area and its ability to be an attraction was false. We’ve proven that.”
Viewer Pops brought that history into sharp relief: “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.”
When Murray described NMA’s ambitions, he reached for a comparison that stopped the room. “If you think of Omaha Performing Arts and what it means to downtown — not only as a cultural and music entertainment entity that imports talent, but as an economic vehicle that brings in $40, $45, $50 million in revenue every year — that’s what we’re trying to build for North Omaha.” The first phase of a capital campaign is set at $20 million, with a full NMA campus as the ultimate goal.
But NMA isn’t just about producing musicians. Murray described an ecosystem of skills being cultivated in young people — live sound engineering, broadcasting, podcasting, and one-on-one interviews with visiting artists. “It’s not just telling them ‘you can be this,'” he said. “No, you can be this right now. Once you remove those barriers, sky’s the limit.” He was equally passionate about the kind of instructors NMA seeks out. “Unless you’re able to inspire a young person, they don’t really have the attention span for it. The why you’re doing it is everything.”
Murray also delivered one of the episode’s most quotable moments when asked about culture as a community asset. “The sooner we understand that our culture is equity, that our brilliance and our artistic genius is equity, the better off we’re going to be,” he said. “Every music in America has been built off of our experience — from the hardest rock music to the jazziest jazz music to the poppiest pop music. Trace it all the way back to the music brought over from Africa. That’s equity.”
Paul B. didn’t hold back his enthusiasm. “When I’m comparing festivals, I’m saying this one to me is the one,” he said of the upcoming NMA Fest. “If I was going to put a festival together, it’d be this.” Viewer Mark Manor added to the anticipation: “Mono Neon is bringing one of the last and relevant connections to Prince. I saw Mono Neon a few years ago — he’s awesome. Do not miss that.”
Buddy the God closed the show the way he always does — with clarity and a call to action. “We got to build our own ecosystems,” he said, tying the morning’s theme together. “All you have to do is find get in where you fit in. The lanes are running. The lanes are wide open. Just get in where you fit in and make it happen.”
Viewer Pops summed it up simply: “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. 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning airs Monday through Friday — tune in and pull up a chair. The conversation is always worth it.
