Rockin' & Rollin'

THE ICONIC COOLY ROCKS ON FESTIVAL DREW THOUSANDS OF PUNTERS TO THE GOLD COAST FOR FIVE DAYS OF CLASSIC CARS, ROCK 'N' ROLL AND ALL THINGS RETRO

- ASHLEIGH WILSON

HIPS were swinging and engines were revving as a record-breaking number of petrolheads rolled into Coolangatta on the Gold Coast to celebrate all things 50s, 60s and 70s at the 2023 Cooly Rocks On festival. Vintage fashion, rock music and car culture of bygone eras were front and centre over the five-day event, with plenty of hot rods, chopped sleds and classic cars lining the beachfront and surrounding streets.

The show is an adaptation of the Wintersun festival, which morphed into Cooly Rocks On in 2011. The annual event saw a massive 136,000 spectators in 2022, and this year’s celebrations look to have topped that. The extensive program included car cruises, club runs and a mammoth show ’n’ shine spanning six city blocks. If that wasn’t enough, live music echoed across the precincts, with swing dances filling the parks and an Elvis tribute competition making sure things were all shook up.

The action began on Wednesday as the Gold Coast Car Club led a cruise out to Seven82Motors in Nerang, which opened its auction house to showcase the latest inventory and celebrate the grand opening of Big Benny’s Diner.

Thursday hosted an earlybird show ’n’ shine at Greenmount Park, while the Nostalgia Markets offered an array of retro threads, trinkets, car parts and memorabilia for visitors to explore. Round one of the Ultimate Elvis Tribute competition began on the main stage, while others joined the convoy out to Balter Brewing. The SCARAB Car Club led the charge for an afternoon of beers and banter, and the day wrapped up with the event’s first-ever moonlight swing dance.