Burglars are Coming to Babylon Village

The Boston Burglars, one of Long Island’s most enduring bands, will be wearing the green when they perform this Saturday at the Babylon Village Public Library from 2-3 p.m.

It’s a special St. Patrick’s Day treat for residents.  They are an upbeat party band with an Irish lilt and have been part of New York’s music scene for decades.

The quartet features Frank Fortney on drums, Tim Sullivan on bass and accordion, Warren O'Neil on keyboards, bass, vocals and guitar and Brendan Corey on guitar, mandolin, harmonicas and vocals.

It will be just O'Neil and Corey performing on Saturday.

“We’ve been making music together for over 33 years.  I came on in 1975 and Brendan joined us during the summer of 1977. We’ve all been together ever since,” says O’Neil.
 
The Burglars were the house band for the Dublin Pub in New Hyde Park for close to 20 years, back in the 1970s-1980s. They maintain a full calendar playing wedding receptions, dances, pubs, nightclubs, country clubs  and concerts. Combining their Irish and American musical backgrounds has proved to be a perfect musical recipe. 
 
“At the library it will be Brendan  and I playing. He’s from the North of Ireland and performs Irish music eloquently, and I’m the American end of it," O’Neil.

"We complement each other without stepping on each other’s toes. I don’t try to be what he is or vice versa," says O'Neil. "He [Corey] was born and raised in Ireland and no guy like me from Queens is going to do as good a job," he says. 
 
Keeping the signature “Boston Burglars” magic alive over all these decades has been easy, O’Neil says, because “we absolutely enjoy what we’re doing together.”

Residents need to pre-register to reserve a seat for the performance and can call the library at 631-669-1624.

Although the band's playlist is huge, the library performance will be Irish music in honor of the upcoming Irish holiday.

"We’ll be wearin’ the green," says O'Neil.

The band’s upcoming performance schedule can be found at its website.