There’s something about a Friday morning that calls for a reset — and that’s exactly what the crew at 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning delivered on this week’s Love Supreme Friday edition. Hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God opened the show with a conscious exhale, stepping back from the week’s political heat to focus on something deeper: community, culture, and the quiet work of building something that lasts.
“We’ve been talking a lot of politics for a while and it’s time to change our mindsets over to something else,” Paul B. told viewers. “It’s real easy to let your emotions take over when there’s so much to be emotional about — hot, mad, sad, all kinds of things. And then it’s just, hey, let’s make a decision to change it up today.” The chat room, never far behind, seemed to feel it too. Viewer Judy Princ dropped a line that landed like a gentle nudge: “If you are sad or angry, go out and help others. Your attitude will change.”
Before shifting gears entirely, the hosts touched on the week’s primary election results and the ongoing conversation about civic participation. Buddy the God kept it plain and direct: “None of that really matters if the people don’t vote. And even the Supreme Court decisions — those maps and numbers are still based on who’s registered, who’s of age, and who actually comes out to vote.” Viewer Sean McCarthy added some grounding context, noting that the Douglas County Election Commissioner reported average primary voter turnout of around 35% — a number that speaks for itself.
But the heart of Friday’s show was the guest sitting across from the hosts: Dana Murray, executive director and founder of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), located on the storied stretch of North 24th Street. A South Omaha native who spent eleven years building his craft in New York City before returning home, Murray has channeled everything he learned into a youth music education program and performance venue that, by his telling, is only just getting started.
The conversation quickly moved beyond music lessons. Paul B. introduced the idea of the “secondary matrix” — the deeper transformation happening beneath the surface of whatever skill is being taught. “In Dana Murray’s case, he teaches kids music — on the surface they’re learning bass, piano, music theory,” Paul B. explained. “But the secondary matrix is to create critical thinkers, people that can go further in their fields because they have the discipline of musical training and the mind-expanding benefits of it.” Viewer Pops knew exactly what that meant: “I experienced my secondary matrix in junior high when I took algebra. I was gaining proficiency and noticed I was suddenly able to think outside the box on several different levels. Music the same.”
Murray spoke with the quiet confidence of someone who has already proven his point once and is gearing up to prove it again, bigger. When asked about NMA’s broader mission, he drew a bold comparison. “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 that brings in $40 to $50 million in revenue every year — that’s what we’re building toward for North Omaha,” he said. “We’re not only raising musicians, but more importantly we’re raising more critical thinking human beings.”
The academy, Murray was quick to note, goes well beyond instruments. Students learn live sound engineering, broadcasting, and podcasting — and they conduct real interviews with visiting artists. “It’s not just telling them ‘you can be this,'” he said. “We show them they can be this right now.”
On the question of meeting young people where they are, Murray was refreshingly clear-eyed. “Most of their learning comes from Google, ChatGPT, YouTube, Instagram, things going viral — that’s their world,” he said. “We can act like that’s going away, but it’s not.” His approach isn’t to fight that reality but to work within it — teaching the history of artists like Victor Lewis and Buddy Miles, giving students context so they can connect the dots on their own. “If you give kids context, they connect the dots for themselves. Then you’ve got a critical thinking human.”
Murray’s vision for North 24th Street — what he and the hosts affectionately called “the Deuce” — was both nostalgic and forward-looking. He painted a picture of what it once was: “Look at old pictures and you see on a Saturday morning, North 24th Street is filled with people just walking around, shopping, going to eat breakfast — men in their suits. There was a unity, a love, and a togetherness that was there.” And he laid out what it could be again, complete with a hotel, music festivals, conferences, and a true cultural district that invites all of Omaha — and beyond — to participate. “People had no problem coming from wherever they are in Omaha or Iowa to come hear jazz music,” he said. “That taboo about the area and its ability to be an attraction was false. We’ve proven that.”
Paul B. put it simply: “I’ve always called it the most important black corner in Nebraska. We have some history there and some legacy there, and we have to be of service to it.”
As for NMA’s future, Murray is thinking in tens of millions. A $20 million capital campaign is in the works, with the long-term goal of an NMA campus that functions as an economic engine for North Omaha — much like Omaha Performing Arts does for downtown. “Money is not our issue in North Omaha,” he said firmly. “It’s transformative ideas. Our culture is equity. Our brilliance, our artistic genius is equity. The sooner we understand that, people are going to come out, see more live music, get their young people involved — because they’ll understand this is not just a cool little thing. This is the core of who we are.”
Music instructors interested in teaching at NMA can reach Dana Murray at dmurray@northomusicaorg or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomusicaorg. Murray made clear that the right fit matters: “Unless you’re able to inspire a young person, they don’t really have the attention span for the X’s and O’s of music. The why you’re doing it is everything.”
Buddy the God closed the show the way he always does — with something worth writing down: “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.”
And on that note, another Love Supreme Friday came to a close. Viewer Pops summed it up for the whole chat room: “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.
Tune in Monday morning and catch 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning live — your neighbors are saving you a seat in the chat.
