Friday mornings on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning carry a particular kind of energy, and this past “Love Supreme Friday” was no exception. Hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God brought the warmth, the wit, and — as always — the kind of conversation that makes you feel like you’re sitting at the kitchen table with people who genuinely care about this city. This week, they welcomed a guest whose work is quietly changing the trajectory of young lives on one of Omaha’s most storied corridors: Dana Murray, director of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA).
Murray, a South Omaha native who spent eleven years in New York City before returning home, now leads NMA — formerly known as Love’s Jazz — on North 24th Street. His mission is as ambitious as it is grounded: build a world-class arts institution right in the heart of North Omaha, and use music as the vehicle for developing the next generation of critical thinkers.
“We’re not only raising musicians,” Murray said. “More importantly, we’re raising more critical thinking human beings. Not all these young kids are going to become musicians. Some will become doctors, lawyers, business owners. Whatever they choose, they’re going to be better because they were aligned with artistry.”
Paul B. framed Murray’s work through a concept he introduced on the show: the “secondary matrix” — the deeper purpose running beneath any public-facing effort. “The secondary matrix for him is to create critical thinkers,” Paul B. explained, “create people that can go further in their fields because they have the discipline of musical training.” Viewer Pops connected immediately, writing in: “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.”
Murray’s vision for NMA extends far beyond music lessons. Students at the academy are learning live sound engineering, broadcasting, and live streaming. They conduct interviews with visiting artists in a fully equipped broadcast lab. And perhaps most powerfully, they’re learning history in context — not just that Omaha produced jazz legend Victor Lewis, but why that matters and what it means for them. “If you give kids context,” Murray said, “they connect the dots themselves and start to see how they can be impactful.”
The conversation turned naturally to the future of North 24th Street — “the deuce,” as Paul B. calls it — and what it could become. Murray was candid and unsentimental. “The North 24th Street corridor is the area that can truly claim to be a cultural and arts district,” he said, “but a lot of the community within is so far removed from what that area once was that it’s hard to build momentum from within.” He outlined what any thriving district requires: housing, services, parking, groceries, destinations — and ideally, a hotel that could anchor larger festivals and conferences. “The X’s and O’s have to make sense,” he said plainly.
He also pushed back gently on a narrative that can sometimes hold North Omaha back. Pointing to South Omaha’s Cinco de Mayo celebration as a model, Murray argued that cultural pride must be paired with an open invitation. “One of the things I’ve tried to do is be a beacon for all of Omaha to come down to North 24th Street,” he said. “That taboo about the area being an attraction was false. We’ve proven that.”
As for NMA’s future, Murray is thinking big. A capital campaign is on the horizon, with a first phase targeting $20 million and a long-term goal of a full NMA campus. “I look at Omaha Performing Arts as a vehicle for that area downtown,” he said, “and we need something like that for North Omaha.” His underlying philosophy was clear: “What we have to sell in most black communities is our culture. Our artistic genius is equity, and the sooner we understand that and monetize it for our community, the better off we’re going to be.”
“Thank you, Uncle Dana. You’re changing lives in big ways. We are the students.” — viewer Senator KML
The show also took time to celebrate community wins. Paul B. and Buddy the God highlighted Charell Shelton, who recently won a $52,000 diagnostic lab prize, and Omaha North High School’s engineering program, which has earned national recognition. These weren’t just feel-good footnotes — they were held up as examples of what’s possible when community investment meets individual excellence.
The hosts didn’t shy away from harder conversations, either. Nebraska’s primary election results prompted a sobering reflection. Paul B. read aloud a post from Raquel Henderson of the mayor’s office: “Only 339,032 out of more than 1.2 million registered voters in Nebraska showed up yesterday. Think about that for a second. And yet everybody has something to say.” Viewer Kimber Snipes offered a thoughtful counterpoint from her own conversations: “What I hear most is they 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. We need more education and deep dive discussions.”
Buddy the God closed the hour with the kind of steady, grounding energy the show has become known for. “We got to build our own ecosystems,” he said, “and continue to do the things that we’re about to talk about… All you have to do is find where you fit in. The lanes are running. The lanes are wide open. Just get in where you fit in and make it happen.”
It was, in every sense, a Love Supreme Friday — full of music, memory, community, and the quiet insistence that North Omaha’s best days are still ahead. Tune in Monday morning and pull up a chair. The conversation is just getting started.
