ROCKLAND – Drawing a record crowd, the North Atlantic Blues Festival rocked into the early evening Sunday with legendary guitarist Bo Diddley playing beyond the usual closing time.

He was still on at 6 p.m. because a half-dozen other bands had all performed a little longer than planned, organizer Paul Benjamin said Sunday. “Bo Diddley can play as long as he wants,” Benjamin said.

The two-day music festival attracted a record crowd, Benjamin said. He estimated that 8,000 music fans attended the event Saturday, and 5,000 to 6,000 showed up Sunday.

“That’s up a thousand over last year’s” attendance, Benjamin said. “So we’re very pleased.”

Both Benjamin and Rockland police said few problems were reported during the festival, which enjoyed sunny weather.

“It was a long, hard weekend,” Benjamin said, “but I’m very happy.”