The featured musician lineup for this year's NOMAFEST (top). Photo of previous years NOMAFEST (left). Headshot of Dana Murray (right). Images sourced from North Omaha Music and Arts.
By Kaydon Webber
5th Annual NOMAFEST Brings Famous Musicians to Omaha
August 11th, 2026
Hosting its 5th Annual NOMAFEST, North Omaha Music and Arts, or NOMA, is a musical organization that educates and fosters the growth of the local Omaha jazz community. As its landmark event, NOMAFEST puts Omaha on the map as one of the jazz hubs of the Midwest. Dana Murray, the executive director of NOMA, says, “It’s important to us to inspire and motivate the local art community to maximize its potential.”
Being both a fundraising event and a celebration, NOMAFEST bolsters the local jazz community by bringing in many popular artists. With the rapid growth of the festival throughout its five years, this year’s NOMAFEST will feature many popular musicians from across the country. Those musicians include Mohini Dey, Frank McComb, The Bar-Kays, MonoNeon, Keyon Harrold, and Richie Love. Murray says, “MonoNeon also, fun fact, he was Prince’s last bass player.”
Many of these artists will also be featured at NOMA’s largest free concert at Gene Leahy Mall on Saturday, August 15th. The festival elevates the city of Omaha with a lineup of musicians on par with those found in many major cities. Murray finishes by stating, “We’re not [just] trying to be good for Omaha, right? We’re trying to be good for anywhere. And that in itself will fuel a lot of young artists here in the city.”
NOMAFEST will kick off its week of music from August 13th to August 16th. More information can be found at northomahamusic.org.
