BottleRock Napa festival kicks off amid heightened security

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- Visitors are flooding into Napa for the first day of BottleRock. They're there to enjoy good food, good music and a good time.

But security is a concern, just days after the terror attack at an Ariana Grande concert in England.

A giant yellow hand greets you at the entrance to BottleRock. It's sure to be all over Instagram. AT&T says network traffic here increases by 50 percent each year.

"We're constantly improvising and innovating to provide this type of capacity to our customers," AT&T Radio Frequency Engineering Group's Michael Caniglia said.

RELATED: Tens of thousands of people flocking to Napa for BottleRock

Customers who flooded the tiny roads leading into downtown Napa are from as far away as Austin, Texas.

"I love that there's a combination of the wine and the food and the music. You don't find that kind of combination really at any other festival," Texas visitor Ariel Lopez said.

But Lopez also found something else out of the ordinary. "There's definitely more bag checks. They check you with like the security wands, make you empty your pockets. I mean, it's more than what you saw a year or two ago," Lopez said.

RELATED: Security concerns grow for Napa's BottleRock festival

Just days after the terror attack at a concert in England, security is a priority. "It's very guarded with checkpoints and there are a list of people who are known to be coming through for deliveries or assisting for the event and it's very well controlled," Napa Police Dept. Lt. Chase Haag said.

And fans are preparing, too. "If we get separated, we have a meet up time and kind of have our own backup plans as well in case something did go wrong. That we know we're all accounted for and that we're safe," one festivalgoer said.

That's yet another reason AT&T brought this cheese wheel antenna, increasing capacity tenfold. "If there's an emergency, we don't want to have any blocked calls," Caniglia said.

So fans can focus on what really matter. "Great music, great wine, great beer," one festivalgoer said.

On the lush new lawn or in those plush new suites. "I am die-hard Tom Petty. I have to hear "Free Fallin" live. I'm so excited. And burgers and beer," another festivalgoer said.

Click here for more information about the BottleRock Napa festival.

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