It was a Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God brought the kind of conversation that makes you want to pull up a chair, pour a cup of coffee, and lean in close. The episode was rich with community vision, civic honesty, and a guest whose work on North 24th Street is quietly — and not so quietly — changing young lives.
The show opened with the hosts reflecting on the season’s overarching theme. “Our season theme is Follow the Money,” said Buddy the God. “The ecosystem that we have been relying on is crumbling before our very eyes — whether it’s electoral politics, whether it’s the economy, whether it’s education.” It was a frank framing for a Friday morning, but exactly the kind of grounded candor that regular viewers have come to expect from the show.
Paul B. added a layer of philosophy with what he called the “secondary matrix” — the idea that everything worth doing carries a deeper purpose beneath the surface. “Everything that we do has a secondary meaning, a deeper meaning,” he explained. “If you look at what we do right here, First Sky Omaha — on the surface we’re a couple of talking heads. But what we’re really trying to do is build community, build some coalition.” Viewer Pops connected with the concept immediately, sharing in the chat: “I experienced my secondary matrix in junior high when I took algebra. I was gaining proficiency and I noticed that I was suddenly able to think outside the box on several different levels. Music the same.”
That observation turned out to be a perfect bridge to the morning’s featured guest: Dana Murray, executive director and founder of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), located on North 24th Street. A South Omaha native and longtime musician and educator, Murray spent eleven years in New York City before returning home to build something lasting for Omaha’s youth. His presence on the show carried both the calm of a seasoned artist and the fire of a man with a mission.
Murray’s vision for the North 24th Street corridor — known affectionately as “the Deuce” — is sweeping in its ambition and grounded in history. “Really, the area that has the most history and the one that can truly claim we are a cultural and arts district is the North 24th Street corridor,” he said. He painted a picture of what the street once was — men in suits, families walking, businesses thriving — and what it could become again. “As a district, you have to have enough housing, places of service, parking, laundromats, eateries, gas stations — all the things any area needs to be self-sustained. And then you have to have destinations: entertainment, restaurants, lounges, attractions to draw people in. It would be great to have a hotel. With a hotel, now you can throw larger attractions — music festivals, conferences — right in the community.”
Viewer Pops echoed that sentiment with a piece of living history: “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 was equally candid about missed opportunities. He spoke directly about the need for North Omaha to open its cultural events to all of Omaha — and beyond. “I’m going to keep it a buck: at every opportunity, we fail at taking advantage of showcasing our culture and highlighting the excellence of who we are,” he said. “Look at South Omaha’s Cinco de Mayo — they invite everybody down to be part of that. One of the things I’ve tried to do was 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 in Omaha or Iowa to come hear jazz music.”
At the heart of NMA’s work is youth development — and Murray is clear that raising musicians is secondary to raising human beings. “We’re not only raising musicians but, more importantly, raising more critical thinking human beings,” he said. “These young kids are not all 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.” The academy teaches live sound engineering, broadcasting, podcasting, and even conducts real interviews with visiting artists — all led by students. “It’s not just telling them, ‘Oh, you can be this someday.’ No — you can be this right now. Once you remove those barriers, the sky’s the limit.”
NMA also grounds its students in the legacy of Omaha’s own musical giants — figures like Buddy Miles and Victor Lewis. “They’re not hearing someone say, ‘Oh, Buddy Miles is from here and he used to play with Jimi Hendrix.’ That doesn’t mean anything to young people,” Murray noted. “We’re teaching them who Buddy Miles was, what he represented for the community and for the world. If you give kids context, they connect the dots for themselves.”
Looking ahead, Murray outlined a bold capital campaign with a first phase of $20 million, with the ultimate goal of building a full NMA campus — something he envisions as the North Omaha equivalent of Omaha Performing Arts. “Money is not our issue in North Omaha,” he said. “It’s transformative ideas that are going to allow us to be not only sustainable but gainfully active.” Viewer Senator KML summed up the room’s feeling simply: “Thank you, Uncle Dana. You’re changing lives in big ways. We are the students.”
The show also touched on Nebraska’s midterm primary results, with hosts and viewers weighing in on voter engagement and the responsibilities of civic life. Buddy the God put it plainly: “We got to do both — we have to build our own ecosystems and in the long run we do got to figure this out as far as a nation. Don’t pay taxes and see what happens.” And in the middle of all the heavy conversation, viewer Aeros 402 brought a moment of pure joy to the chat: “On a love note, my only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both new and good. I feel blessed.” The whole room, it seemed, lit up for that one.
Those interested in supporting or connecting with the North Omaha Music Academy can reach Dana Murray directly at dmurray@northomahmusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahmusic.org.
It was, as Love Supreme Fridays tend to be, an episode that left you feeling like Omaha is building something real. Tune in Monday morning and see what’s next — your neighbors will be watching.
