It was a “Love Supreme Friday” on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God were in the mood to lift spirits. After weeks of primary election coverage, the duo made a deliberate pivot. “We’ve been talking a lot of politics for a while and we got a little break after the primaries,” Paul B. told viewers. “It’s going to be Love Supreme Friday today and we’re going to change our mindsets over to something else.” The chat lit up right away — viewer Arrows 402 (Mary Sanchez) set the tone perfectly, sharing, “On a love note, my only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both new and good. I feel blessed.” It was exactly the energy the room needed.
Still, civic life was never far from the conversation. Buddy the God kept it real about the stakes of community engagement, reminding listeners that collective action starts at the ballot box but doesn’t end there. “We got to do both — build our own ecosystems and continue to do the things that are going to fix the larger system,” he said. “You still do for self and then you vote so it can be supported and uplifted.” Viewer Kimber Snipes weighed in from the chat with a perspective worth sitting with: “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’s a tension the show navigates week after week — holding people accountable while also meeting them where they are.
Paul B. took the opportunity to unpack what he calls his “secondary matrix” — the idea that what happens on screen is only part of the story. “The primary matrix is us on this show — talking heads talking about the situation,” he explained. “The secondary matrix is when chat chimers and people are going to the towers and really talking to folks.” In other words, the real work happens when the broadcast ends and neighbors start talking to neighbors.
The heart of Friday’s episode, though, was a rich and wide-ranging conversation with Dana Murray, executive director and founder of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), located on North 24th Street — what Paul B. has long called “the most important Black corner in Nebraska.” A South Omaha native and professional musician who spent eleven years in New York City before returning home to invest in Omaha’s youth, Murray brought both vision and candor to every question.
On the future of the North 24th Street corridor, Murray was direct: “The area that has the most history and the one that can truly claim to be a cultural and arts district is the North 24th Street corridor.” But he didn’t shy away from the hard truth, either. “A lot of the community within is so far removed from what that was that it’s hard to build momentum from within.” His blueprint for the corridor includes the basics — housing, eateries, parking, transit — alongside destination draws like entertainment venues, restaurants, and even a hotel that could host larger music festivals and conferences right in the heart of the community.
As a South Omaha native working on North 24th, Murray addressed the question of belonging head-on. “If you’re Black and you’re in Omaha, especially in the 70s and early 80s, everyone had a shared relationship with North Omaha. That was the Mecca for us.” He expressed a genuine love for events like Native Omaha Days while also challenging the community to aim higher. “I wish we did more of what South Omaha does with Cinco de Mayo — they champion their culture and invite everybody in.” His model at NMA, he said, has always been to serve as “a beacon for all of Omaha to come down to North 24th Street.” Viewer Mark Manor confirmed that it’s working: “When I go there it is the same people at shows at Waiting Room, Slow Down, and the Jewel. So people are coming from all around town and getting down at NMA.”
But NMA is far more than a concert venue. Murray described it as a youth music academy, a performance space, and — in his biggest vision — an economic engine for North Omaha on the scale of what Omaha Performing Arts means for downtown. “We’re not only raising musicians but more importantly raising more critical thinking human beings,” he said. “All these young kids are not going to become musicians — some will become doctors, some will become lawyers, some will become business owners. Whatever they choose to do, they’re going to be better because they were aligned with artistry.” Students learn live sound, broadcasting, podcasting, and even how to conduct interviews with working artists — skills they can use right now, not someday.
On the challenge of inspiring young people in the age of YouTube and ChatGPT, Murray was refreshingly pragmatic. “We can act like that’s going away, but it’s not,” he said. “So we have to figure out how to inspire them within the world they live in.” His approach is to meet students where they are and let them illuminate what works — rather than forcing a curriculum he described as “at this point very antiquated.” The why, he emphasized, is everything. “They don’t need us for the what; they can go to YouTube and see anything we’re trying to teach them.”
Looking ahead, Murray revealed that NMA is preparing for a capital campaign with a first phase of $20 million, with the long-term goal of building a full NMA campus on the North 24th corridor. “Money is not our issue really in North Omaha,” he said with conviction. “It’s transformative ideas that are going to allow us to be not only sustainable but gainfully active. The sooner we understand that our culture is equity — that our brilliance, our artistic genius is equity — the better off we’re going to be.” Music educators interested in joining the NMA team can reach Murray directly at dmurray@northomahahusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahahusic.org.
“Thank you, Uncle Dana. You’re changing lives in big ways. We are the students.” — viewer Senator KML
The show wrapped on the same warm note it started on, with viewer Pops speaking for many: “Thanks for another great week of shows. You and the Chat Chimers have made First Sky a true pillar in the community. Have a great weekend.” Hard to say it better than that. Tune in Monday morning — Paul B., Buddy the God, and the whole First Sky family will be right there waiting for you.
