ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee made a series of announcements Friday about the live music concert series surrounding the event.
The committee announced that Atlanta-based, Grammy Award-winning producer and entertainer Jermaine Dupri will be a producer of the concert series, which takes place the week of the NFL championship game at Centennial Olympic Park.
"My goal is to give the people a 'Welcome to Atlanta' experience like no other," Dupri said.
Dupri said his goal was for people to leave the city "knowing what Atlanta is all about."
Friday marked 100 days until the big game. Super Bowl LIII will take place at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Feb. 3, 2019. It's the first Super Bowl held in the city since Super Bowl XXXIV was held at the Georgia Dome in 2000.
Dupri will be in charge of selecting performers for the concert series. He said he wanted to reach out to local talent so they'd feel included in the worldwide event.
The concert series will be part of a six-day of "food, fun, music and entertainment," according to Brett Daniels, the COO of the host committee.
It's slated to begin January 26, 2019. It'll be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday of Super Bowl week before reopening on Thursday. An estimated 200,000 people are expected to come into the city for the events, Daniels said.
"We want to use the park to really showcase what Atlanta is all about: from the music scene, from the art, from the culture -- we're going to tap into the unique roots that we have here in our community to bring this park to life," Daniels.
Super Bowl LIVE presented by Verizon will be open to the public the following days and times.
- Saturday, January 26: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
- Sunday, January 27: 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.
- Monday, January 28: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
- Tuesday, January 29: Closed
- Wednesday, January 30: Closed
- Thursday, January 31: 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
- Friday, February 1: 12 p.m. – 10 p.m.
- Saturday, February 2: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said that she was glad to hear that Dupri, who she referred to as "the self-proclaimed mayor of Atlanta," would be a part of the planning around the game. She said that having an Atlanta connection involved was important to her.
"With this announcement, we know that all of Atlanta will be welcome, and that all of Atlanta will be represented," Bottoms said.
Dupri founded the So So Def record label as a teen. Under his guidance, So So Def Recordings helped develop and promote the entire genre of Southern hip-hop in the 1990s. It rose to success through music acts including preteen stars Kriss Kross and Bow Wow, female rapper Da Brat and R&B group Jagged Edge.
Dupri, a Grammy winner, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June. He played a show at the State Farm Arena on Oct. 21.
►BACKGROUND: How Atlanta became the host of Super Bowl LIII
The headliner of the halftime show performance has not been officially announced, although some have speculated that it will be Maroon 5, a decision that has drawn some criticism locally.
Justin Timberlake performed at the most recent Super Bowl, which was held in Minneapolis.
PHOTOS: Justin Timberlake performs during Super Bowl LII halftime
Singer Rihanna reportedly passed on an offer to perform during this year's halftime show in an act of solidarity to former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this story
