It was a Love Supreme Friday on 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God made a deliberate choice to steer the ship toward something life-giving. With Nebraska’s primary election results fresh on everyone’s minds — and emotions running high across the community — Paul B. set the tone early. “We have to make a decision,” he told viewers. “It’s going to be Love Supreme Friday today. And we’re going to change our mindsets over to something else — because it’s real easy to let your emotions take over when there’s so much to be emotional about.”
That didn’t mean ignoring the civic moment entirely. The numbers from Tuesday’s primary were sobering. Viewer Raquel Henderson, quoted on air, put it plainly: “Only 339,000 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. Everybody’s angry. Everybody’s debating policies and leadership decisions online. Where is that same energy when it’s time to organize, educate, mobilize, register, and actually vote?” Buddy the God echoed the sentiment, noting, “None of this really matters if everybody voted. And as I’ve been listening to conversations and doing reading myself, it’s a pretty valid point that a lot of this doesn’t matter if everybody voted.”
Viewer Kimber Snipes offered a more measured take from the chat: “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 was the kind of grounded, generous pushback the 1st Sky community does well — and it set the stage for the morning’s deeper conversation about what it actually looks like to build something lasting in North Omaha.
That conversation arrived in the form of Dana Murray, executive director and founder of the North Omaha Music Academy (NMA), located on North 24th Street. A South Omaha native who spent eleven years in New York City before returning home, Murray has become one of the most compelling voices in the city’s conversation about arts, culture, and community investment. And from the moment he started talking, it was clear why.
On the question of what North 24th Street — “the deuce,” as the hosts affectionately call it — could and should become, 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 — not even what the rest of Omaha views North 24th Street as. I’m more talking to the people that are there, who are so far removed from what that was, that it is hard to build momentum from within when a lot of the community can’t relate to the power of what was.” His vision is concrete: housing, services, parking, eateries — all the infrastructure of a self-sustaining neighborhood — anchored by cultural destinations, music festivals, and, one day, a hotel that could host conferences and larger events right in the heart of the community.
Murray also took on the thorny question of cultural ownership with characteristic directness. He spoke admiringly of how South Omaha’s Cinco de Mayo celebration champions Latino culture while opening its arms to the whole city. “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,” he said. “People told me that was going to be very hard. But people have no problem coming from wherever they are in Omaha or Iowa to come down to hear jazz music. That taboo about the area and its ability to be an attraction was false. We’ve proven that.” Viewer Mark Manner backed that up from the chat: “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.”
At its heart, NMA is a youth music academy and performance venue — but Murray is quick to point out that the music is almost beside the point. Paul B. framed it well with what he called the “secondary matrix” concept: “There’s always a deeper meaning to what it is that you’re talking about doing. In Dana Murray’s case, he teaches kids music — but really, the secondary matrix is to create critical thinkers.” Murray couldn’t agree more. “We’re not only raising musicians but, more importantly, we’re raising more critical thinking human beings,” he said. “These young kids are not all going to become musicians by choice. Some will become doctors, some lawyers, some business owners. Whatever they choose to do, they’re going to be better because they were aligned with artistry.”
That philosophy extends to how NMA teaches history. Rather than rattling off names like Buddy Miles or Victor Lewis as trivia, Murray’s instructors give young people context — stories, legacies, wins and losses — until the history becomes personal. “If you give kids context, they connect the dots for themselves,” he explained. “Now you’ve got a critical thinking human. That’s ultimately what we’re trying to do.” Beyond instruments, NMA students also learn live sound engineering, broadcast production, and podcasting — practical skills delivered in real time. “So it’s not just telling them, ‘oh, you can be this,'” Murray said. “No, you can be this right now.”
As for what’s next, Murray has his eyes on a $20 million capital campaign — phase one of what he envisions as a full NMA campus that could do for North Omaha what Omaha Performing Arts does for downtown. “Money is not our issue in North Omaha, really,” he said. “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 and our artistic genius is equity, the better off we’re going to be.” Those interested in teaching at NMA can reach Murray at dmurray@northomusicmusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomusicmusic.org.
The show closed on a warm note, with viewer Aeros 402 sharing a bit of personal joy 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.” It was exactly the kind of moment that makes Love Supreme Friday feel earned.
Paul B. closed the week with a line his grandmother used to say: “Dance is the shortcut to happiness.” After a morning like this one — full of vision, history, community love, and honest conversation — it’s hard to argue with her.
Catch 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning with Paul B. and Buddy the God next week for more of the conversations that matter most to our community. You won’t want to miss it.
