Lief Sorbye is the lead singer, main songwriter and mandolin player of Tempest, the Bay Area-based Celtic band that’s developed a worldwide following in the past 35-plus years.
Sorbye said he’s been playing music for as long as he can remember. Inspired by the Beatles, he began performing in rock cover bands in high school in Oslo, Norway. Then a friend played him an album by the Incredible String Band. He began researching traditional Irish music, teaching himself to play jigs, reels and ballads, and became an amateur folklorist in the process.
“I wanted to play the songs, but didn’t have the patience to learn fiddle,” Sorbye said. “The mandolin is tuned like a fiddle, so that became the instrument I used to explore Celtic music. After moving to the Bay Area I started Tempest to combine Celtic, Scandinavian, rock, folk and world music.”
Sorbye called his style Celtodelic. Tempest quickly grew from a local phenomenon to an outfit that regularly headlines festivals all over North America and Europe. His musical journey is the subject of a book he recently completed with the help of his publisher and co-writer, Stephen Provost—What I Tell My Friends, Vol. 1: The Busking Years, to be published Aug. 1.
A few years ago, Provost showed up at a Tempest show and expressed interest in writing a biography of Sorbey or the band, or both.
“That planted a seed,” Sorbye said. “I’d been traveling with the band for decades. There’s a lot of downtime in touring—riding in a van or sitting in hotel lobbies. When I was hanging out with bandmates, I’d tell them stories of my past. I slowly began to realize how colorful of a past it was.
“Writing a song is something I was familiar with,” he continued. “A book was uncharted territory. Then, in 2023, I had an accident. I had to do physical therapy and decided to take up Steven’s offer.” Sorbye put the band on hold and began writing.
“I put my childhood under the microscope,” Sorbye said. “I had bits and pieces of photos and old journals. I contacted people from my past, because it became important to have all the details correct. I wanted to be as true to my reality as possible.”
As the story unfolded, Sorbye worked with Provost. “It took shape like an extended interview,” Sorbye said. “I’d tell my life story to him and he’d send it back to me to check over. We did Zoom sessions. I’d send him a list of topics. As I expanded on them, it became me telling the story and he became the narrator, shaping the story in a more journalistic manner. It takes courage to be totally honest.”
Sorbye was supposed to write one book, but the history kept expanding. The first book takes in his busking years—his education as a street performer—and how he immigrated to the United States in 1981. The second volume will be called The Tempest Years.
“I’m hoping to get that done by 2026,” he said.
Tempest has gone through many incarnations over the decades, but their current tour includes the quartet that Sorbye put together in 1988, including Rob Wullenjohn on guitar, Ian Butler on bass, drummer Adolfo Lazo, and Sorbye on vocals and double-necked mandolin.
Sorbye put most gigs on hold while he wrote the book, but he played a few with the original members, from the band’s early days.
“When a band first starts, it’s just friends getting together to play music,” Sorbye said. “We rekindled that original spirit at those gigs. Rob and Ian left to start their families, but with their kids out the door, they were excited to rejoin. We’re also featuring Jon Berger on fiddle. He left the band to become an attorney. When I called and asked him to come back, he’d just retired and wanted to get back to playing music. It was a cosmic moment.
“There’s an uplifting feeling you get when you’re playing live music and connecting with the audience,” Sorbye continued. “It’s nurturing, and it’s important to have that kind of joyfulness during dark times. Right now, we need music more than ever. Keeping joy alive is part of the resistance.”
Tempest will play 8pm Saturday, March 29, at The Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. 510.841.0188. thestarryplow.com. ‘What I Tell My Friends, Vol. 1: The Busking Years’ will be published by Dragon Crown Books in August. Order copies at tempestmusic.com.
Tempest played on a bill with my band Carbon Yard at the Starry Plough in 1988. As I remember, they said it was their first ever show. I’ll have to read the book to see if I’m right!