It was a Love Supreme Friday on the set of 1st Sky Omaha in the Morning, and hosts Paul B. and Buddy the God were determined to keep it that way — even as the conversation touched on some of the weightier issues facing our community. From primary election results to a $52,000 prize for a North Omaha entrepreneur, and a deeply inspiring sit-down with a music educator who is quietly transforming young lives on the city’s most storied corridor, Season 4’s 53rd episode delivered exactly the kind of morning fuel Omaha needs heading into the weekend.
Paul B. set the tone early, acknowledging that the world gives us plenty of reasons to stay in our feelings — but making a deliberate choice to rise above it.
“We have to make a decision. 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 spirit carried the show from open to close, even when the topics got pointed.
One of those pointed moments came when the hosts turned to the previous day’s primary election results. With only 339,000 of Nebraska’s more than 1.2 million registered voters showing up to cast a ballot, Paul B. didn’t mince words.
“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?”
Viewer Kimber Snipes offered a nuanced counterpoint in the chat, writing that conversations she’s had with people between the ages of 20 and 35 reveal a deeper issue: “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 exactly the kind of back-and-forth that makes the First Sky community feel like a real town square. Buddy the God brought it home with a reminder that civic disengagement has real consequences: “Don’t pay taxes and see what happens.”
Before the main interview, the hosts paused to celebrate a community win worth cheering about — North Omaha entrepreneur Charell Shelton took home a $52,000 prize, a moment the show held up as proof that big things are happening right here in our own backyard. Viewer Aeros 402 added his own good news to the morning’s warm glow, sharing: “On a love note, my only daughter gave birth to my second granddaughter. They are both new and good. I feel blessed.” The chat, as always, reminded everyone that community is built one moment at a time.
The centerpiece of the morning was a rich, wide-ranging conversation with Dana Murray, founder and director of the North Omaha Music Academy — known until recently as Love’s Jazz — located right on the North 24th Street corridor. A musician who spent 11 years sharpening his craft in New York City before returning home, Murray brings both big-city vision and deep local roots to everything he’s building.
When Paul B. asked what North 24th Street — “the most important black corner in Nebraska,” as he’s long called it — should become, Murray didn’t hesitate. He laid out a clear-eyed blueprint: sustainable infrastructure, destinations that draw people in, and ideally, a hotel to anchor larger festivals and conferences right in the heart of the community. But he also issued a challenge from within.
“We’ve been 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.”
He was candid about missed opportunities, including beloved traditions that, in his view, haven’t fully capitalized on showcasing North Omaha’s culture to the broader city. “None of that is trying to invite the rest of Omaha down to partake in what we have to offer,” he said — adding that, in his own experience, people have had no problem crossing town or coming in from Iowa to hear jazz on North 24th Street when given the invitation.
Murray’s vision for NMA is ambitious in the most grounded way possible. He pointed to Omaha Performing Arts as a model — not just a cultural institution, but an economic engine generating tens of millions of dollars annually for its surrounding area. “That’s what we’re trying to be for North Omaha,” he said. And the Academy is already doing far more than teaching scales. Students learn live sound engineering, broadcasting, podcasting, and get hands-on experience interviewing visiting artists.
“It’s not just teaching them ‘oh, you can be this’ — no, you can be this right now. Once you remove those barriers, the sky’s the limit.”
Paul B. connected Murray’s work to a broader idea the hosts have been developing — what they call the “secondary matrix,” the deeper, often invisible outcome that grows inside a community ecosystem. Teaching kids music, Paul B. explained, is the primary matrix. The secondary one? Creating critical thinkers. “Your brain starts firing in different ways. You become a better student, more intelligent.” Viewer Pops knew exactly what that felt like, writing: “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 also addressed the long-term stakes plainly: brain drain is hurting Omaha, and it’s devastating North Omaha specifically. His answer is to build something so compelling that talented young people choose to stay — and to help the community understand that its culture is not just a source of pride, but of real economic equity.
“If we don’t monetize it — which 99% of the time we don’t — the rest of the country monetizes our culture for us.”
For anyone interested in joining NMA’s faculty, Murray noted that the Academy is selective for good reason: the right instructor has to be able to do more than teach technique. “The why you’re doing it is everything,” he said. Interested music educators can reach him at dmurray@northomahmusic.org or his assistant Andrew Bailey at abailey@northomahmusic.org. A capital campaign — with a first phase goal of $20 million — is on the horizon as NMA works toward a full campus.
The show closed the way it began — with warmth, gratitude, and a sense that something real is being built here. Viewer Judy Princ put it simply: “If you are sad or angry, go out and help others. Your attitude will change.” And Pops, as reliable as a good neighbor, signed off for the week: “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. Join Paul B., Buddy the God, and the whole First Sky family back here Monday morning — because in Omaha, the conversation never really stops.
