The trio Luehrman, Shaffer & Check is from Warrensburg, Missouri, by way of Kansas City. They are known for the large collection of musical instruments they use to play a dizzyingly diverse variety of musical styles and genres, running the gamut of American musical archetypes: old time country, folk, New Orleans jazz, swing, Broadway, and delta blues. The best single descriptor for their music would likely be Americana. Their repertoire features primarily original compositions that dovetail well with covers from bygone eras of American music. They have released multiple CD's and have been featured on Kansas City area radio station 90.9 The Bridge.

Mick Luehrman can be heard on vocals, guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, and occasionally cornet.  A dedicated songwriter and musical archivist, he is also a visual artist and professor of art education in the Department of Art & Design at the University of Central Missouri (UCM).

Multi-instrumentalist Tony Shaffer, long time member of country legend Leroy Van Dyke’s band, provides stellar musicianship and entertaining wit. Tony is featured on a boatload of different guitars, dobro, banjo and harp. He has toured with an amazing array of country music stars including Roy Clark, Narvel Felts, Rex Allen Jr., Jimmy Fortune, Moe Bandy, TG Shepard, and Bobby Bare, to name a few.

John Check can be found on the upright string bass, sousaphone, clarinet, trombone, and occasional vocals. Check is a professor of music theory at UCM and is a member of various faculty instrumental ensembles. He is at home with a diverse group of musical genres, from classical to jazz and even polka, a musical form that he learned at an early age playing in his father’s band in Wisconsin.

The NMM Live! Series is made possible by the USD Student Government Association and the South Dakota Arts Council through the Department of Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.