THOUSANDS of rockers rolled into Coolangatta and Tweed Heads over the long weekend to celebrate nostalgia festival Cooly Rocks On, with local businesses claiming it was the best festival to hit the area in years.

Committee member and Destination Tweed CEO Phil Villiers said the feedback from visitors was “fantastically positive”.

“Not even the rain could deter people.

“They were running straight back out to the stages as soon as it cleared,” Mr Villiers said.

“The committee is really humbled.

"We went out on a limb picking up this festival and the people have chosen to come back.

Mr Villiers said many of the festival sponsors had promised to return next year, some promising more money than they pledged this year.

That Shop, a Coolangatta clothing store selling rockabilly designs, was kept busy with its doors open till 7pm over the weekend.

“It was brilliant,” owner Karen Drew said.

“The best festival in many years; it was amazing, we're still busy.”

Operations manager Bob Newman said the festival had been so successful there were plans for the festival to grow in coming years, with the proposal for street closures over two weekends as opposed to just one weekend to allow for more classic cars, more bands and more people.

An economic impact statement with details on visitor numbers and revenue will be released soon.