century, North Omaha was home to several important cultural venues. They included the Druid Hall on Ames Avenue, where Maceo Pinkard performed frequently, and the Dreamland Ballroom was a historic venue that featured a wide range of national jazz talent, as well as local legends including saxophonist Preston Love. He said, "North Omaha used to be a hub for black jazz musicians, 'the triple-A league' where national bands would go to find a player to fill out their ensemble." Early North Omaha jazz bands included Dan Desdunes Band, Simon Harrold's Melody Boys, the Sam Turner Orchestra, the Ted Adams Orchestra, and the Omaha Night Owls, as well as Red Perkins and His Original Dixie Ramblers. In 1931 Lloyd Hunter's Serenaders became the first Omaha band to record their music. A Lloyd Hunter concert poster can be seen on display at the Community Center in nearby Mineola, Iowa. Nat Towles was a renowned territory band leader based in Omaha. One of Omaha's most notable musicians of the 1940s was Anna Mae Winburn. As the leader of North Omaha's Cotton Club Boys, which included guitarist Charlie Christian, Winburn traveled the local region as a typical territorial band. Upon the advice of Jimmie Jewell, owner of the Jewel Building, Winburn left Omaha and hit the "big time" with the International Sweethearts of Rhythm. North Omaha's musical culture also gave rise to several nationally and internationally reputable African-American musicians. Influential drummer Buddy Miles was friends with Love while they grew up and played together. They collaborated throughout their lives, and while they were playing with the greatest names in Rock and Roll, Jazz, R&B and Fund. Funk band leader Lester Abrams is also from North Omaha. Omaha-born Wynonie Harris, one of the founders of rock and roll, got his start at the North Omaha clubs and for a time lived in the now-demolished Logan Fontenelle Housing Project. Another notable local musician was Lomie Washburn. Born in North Omaha, she went on to write songs and sing backup with such legends as Chaka Khan, Rufus, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. She and many of the musicians from North Omaha have been inducted in the Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame. North Omaha is home to several important annual events that help define and celebrate the community, its history, and its future. Native Omaha Days is a biennial North Omaha cultural tradition, reuniting members of the