Entertainment

Most areas that host a Super Bowl begin their festivities a week to 10 days before the big game. Dallas-Fort Worth is not most areas.

LOUIS DeLUCA/DMN

Tim McGraw will headline Friday's concert at Cowboys Stadium.

"No region loves football or has a history of football like North Texas does," says Tony Fay, director of communications for the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee. "We wanted to extend the celebration to allow more people to participate in the events leading up to the game."

Thus we have XLV Countdown Live from Cowboys Stadium, Friday night's eclectic concert and tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Dallas Cowboys. Along with celebrating Emmitt Smith's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the event will feature Tim McGraw, Van Cliburn and a choir of NFL players, among other acts.

"We have classical music, we have gospel music and we have country music – all under the roof of Cowboys Stadium," Fay says. "We think it'll be a fantastically fun evening."

Here is a rundown of what the approximately 36,000 fans can expect from the party.

University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra: The ensemble will be on the field as the stadium's big screens show tribute films highlighting the history of the Cowboys. "They'll be performing some really familiar NFL Films music," Fay says. "Each film will be preceded by a Cowboys legend coming out onstage and setting up what you're about to see."

Van Cliburn: The internationally acclaimed pianist will perform "The Star-Spangled Banner," which is a staple at his concerts. "One of the things we've tried to do is really shine a light on the incredible cultural assets we have in North Texas," Fay says. "The guy's a legend."

NFL Players Gospel Choir: For the past 12 years, football players have performed during Super Bowl weekend, and they'll do it again next year at Music Hall at Fair Park. Fans can get a preview Friday, when former players take the stage to sing "America the Beautiful." (The choir is said to include former Cowboys Drew Pearson and Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, and Tim Brown, who graduated from Woodrow Wilson High in Dallas and told the host committee he's comfortable in the choir "as long as I'm in the back.")

Tim McGraw: "He's one of the top-selling artists of the last quarter-century, and he's somebody who's not afraid to play that stadium," Fay says. "It can be kind of daunting to play a venue of that size." McGraw agreed to take part in the event after wife Faith Hill performed for another Super Bowl fundraiser in March at Bass Hall in Fort Worth. "We thought this would be a wonderful match for him," Fay says, adding that the night will conclude with the Cowboys Cheerleaders, "some indoor pyro – and right into Tim McGraw."

Plan your life

XLV Countdown Live from Cowboys Stadium with Tim McGraw is at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Cowboys Stadium, 1 Legends Way, Arlington. $25-$65. Parking is $10 and $15. Ticketmaster.