HB Sound and Light changes its business model

GRAND FORKS — HB Sound and Gentle is scaling again operations.

The Grand Forks firm is eliminating its occasions division, recognized for placing on such extremely attended productions because the Greenway Takeover Pageant and offering top-quality gentle and sound assist throughout the nation.

Co-owner Jamie Lunski, who has labored on the firm for 25 years, mentioned HB Sound and Gentle will proceed to offer everlasting audio, video and lighting installs and restore gear. He owns the corporate together with his spouse, Tricia.

Lunski mentioned the corporate will go from 30 full-time staff and greater than 200 part-time staff in 2022 to about 10 full-time staff in 2023. A few of the occasion employees discovered jobs inside the firm. Others are retiring. Lunski mentioned about 10 staff are being laid off.

“We’re not going to be doing occasions, or staffing occasions or doing leases,” he mentioned. “And we are going to not have a retailer entrance. However we are going to proceed to put in merchandise within the church buildings and faculties and theaters and issues like that.”

Lunski mentioned he needs to wind down after a demanding 25 years.

“For 25 years folks have been telling me which days of the week I’m going to work,” Lunski mentioned. “And I’m prepared for a change.”

He mentioned different native companies will assist fill the void on occasion manufacturing.

The modifications at HB Sound and Gentle are efficient Jan. 1. Lunski mentioned he’ll proceed to personally do some occasions, resembling function video engineer at UND video games.

“It obtained to be an excessive amount of, too typically and I made a decision I used to be completed,” Lunski mentioned of occasions.

HB Sound and Gentle additionally had a retailer in Fargo. The corporate is within the means of closing that web site. The Grand Forks retailer entrance will shut on the finish of the 12 months. The set up division will proceed to function at 101 N. Eighth Road.

“It’s been excellent,” Lunski mentioned of the occasions division at HB. “The pandemic was fairly terrible as a result of we had little or no occasion work for 14 months.”

HB Sound and Gentle particularly has turn out to be recognized for its annual Greenway Takeover Pageant, which historically included three phases, all of which have been arrange and overseen by HB Sound and Gentle employees and utilizing the corporate’s gear.

The 2022 Greenway Takeover was held Sept. 8-11 and included a number of native bands, every day main as much as larger regional and nationwide artists. The headliners have been the

Gear Daddies

, Yonder Mountain String Band and Large Head Todd and the Monsters. Greater than 20 music acts performed over the course of 4 days.

Previously, Soul Asylum, the Spin Docs, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies and Everclear performed the competition, which debuted in 2017. The occasion additionally included household pleasant choices, from garden video games and puppet exhibits to children-focused leisure and meals vans.

In October, the Lunskis introduced that HB Sound and Gentle can be discontinuing the competition, resulting from staffing considerations and inflation.