It was a Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God had good reason to set that tone early. With post-primary political chatter running hot in the show’s online community, Paul B. made the call before the first segment was done. “There’s a lot of back and forth, friends breaking up, all kinds of stuff happening over politics — and that just is like, okay, well, we have to make a decision,” he said. “It’s going to be Love Supreme Friday today.” And with that, the conversation pivoted from ballot results to something a little deeper: the work of building something that lasts.
The political thread didn’t disappear entirely, though. Both hosts spent a few thoughtful minutes on what civic engagement really means beyond showing up to vote. Viewer Kimber Snipes captured a sentiment many are feeling: “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. Politics also seems — because it is — very messy to them.” Paul B. agreed that the responsibility runs deeper than Election Day. “We can’t just vote vote vote vote vote,” he said. “We also got to run. You also have to have common sense people running for these offices giving people something to vote for.”
Buddy the God, as is his way, brought it back to the ground level. “We got to do both — we have to build our own ecosystems and continue to do the things that we’re about to talk about,” he said. “But in the long run, we do got to figure this out as far as a nation.” That pivot — from macro frustration to micro action — set the table perfectly for the morning’s main guest.
Dana Murray, founder and director of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), joined the show for what turned into one of those conversations you replay in your head on the drive home. A musician and educator who spent eleven years in New York City before returning to Omaha, Murray has been teaching music here for two decades. His academy, located on the storied North 24th Street corridor — what locals call “the Deuce” — is doing far more than teaching scales and chord progressions.
When asked about the potential of the North 24th Street corridor, Murray didn’t mince words. “Really, 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.” He laid out a clear vision: sufficient housing, eateries, transportation, and — critically — destinations. “It would be great to have a hotel,” he said. “With a hotel, you can throw larger attractions, music festivals, conferences right in the community.” Paul B., whose family history is woven into that very block, didn’t hold back his own feelings. “I’ve always called it the most important black corner in Nebraska,” he said, “and we got to serve it. We have to be of service to it.” Viewer Pops added a personal note from the chat: “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.”
Murray, who grew up in South Omaha, was candid about the cultural baggage that sometimes slows progress. “One of the things that holds us back is this false sense of security with pride as it pertains to North Omaha,” he said. “At every opportunity, we fail at taking advantage of showcasing our culture and highlighting the excellence of who we are.” He pointed to Native Omaha Days as a beloved tradition that, in his view, hasn’t fully seized its potential as a community showcase. “I’ve tried to reach out and be a beacon for all of Omaha to come down to North 24th Street,” he said, “and people have no problem coming from wherever they are in Omaha or Iowa to hear jazz music or whatever we present.” Viewer Mark Manner could vouch for that: “When I go there, it is the same people at shows at Waiting Room, Slow Down, and the Jewels. So people are coming from all around town and getting down at NMA, which I find impressive.”
But NMA’s ambitions stretch well beyond concert nights. Murray described a youth program that includes live sound engineering, broadcast production, podcasting, and on-camera interviewing — with students doing the work themselves, right now. “It’s not just telling them ‘oh, you can be this someday,'” he said. “No, you can be this right now.” Paul B. used the moment to introduce one of the show’s recurring ideas — what he calls the “secondary matrix.” “Everything that we do has a secondary meaning, a deeper meaning,” he explained. “In Dana Murray’s case, he teaches kids music — but the secondary matrix is to create critical thinkers, create people that can go further in their fields because they have the discipline of musical training and the mind-expanding benefits of it.”
Murray envisions NMA eventually functioning the way Omaha Performing Arts functions for downtown — not just as a cultural anchor, but as an economic engine. “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 bringing in 40 to 50 million dollars in revenue every year — that’s what we’re working toward for North Omaha,” he said. A capital campaign with a first phase of $20 million is in the works, with the long-term goal of a full NMA campus. “Money is not our issue in North Omaha,” Murray said plainly. “It’s transformative ideas that are going to allow us to be not only sustainable but gainfully active.”
Music instructors interested in joining the NMA faculty can reach Murray directly at dmurray@northomahahusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahahusic.org. Murray was clear about what he’s looking for: “Anyone can have the X’s and O’s of teaching, but unless you’re able to inspire a young person, they don’t really have the attention span for the technical side of music. The instructors we bring in have to have in their arsenal the ability to inspire another human being.”
The show wrapped on a high note, with the hosts teasing an upcoming screening of Boots Riley’s film I Love Boosters at Film Streams and viewer Aeros 402 sharing a beautiful personal moment from the chat: “On a love note, my only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both new and good. I feel blessed.” On a Love Supreme Friday, it was the perfect final word.
If you missed it, catch the full episode on the 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning platforms — and make sure you’re tuned in Monday, because if this week was any indication, the conversation is only getting better.
