Celebrate Earth Day Through Music

The Polyphonic Spree and young performers shine at Earth Day Texas

Earth Day Texas is a free weekend festival featuring environmentally focused events, programs, businesses and organizations. The festival, April 26-27 at Fair Park, also promotes local talent — an eco-friendly way to enjoy live music.

Because touring can cost millions of dollars and leave a large carbon footprint, the less an artist has to travel, the better for the environment. To that end, Earth Day Texas is excited to announce the headliner for the event is the The Polyphonic Spree. Additional performances will take place by up-and-coming young musicians.

“There’s just something special about The Polyphonic Spree that makes you want to get up, dance and celebrate,” says Michael Cain, executive director of EDTx.

The Polyphonic Spree, the Dallas-based 21-member choral and symphonic pop band, has gained an international reputation for high-spirited performances, and local fans look forward to the group’s Holiday Extravaganza in Dallas each year.

“There’s just something special about The Polyphonic Spree, something that makes you want to get up, dance and celebrate the world around you. And that’s exactly the experience we hope to bring people at this year’s event,” says Michael Cain, executive director of EDTx.

Wearing their trademark choir robes, the band will make its last 2014 U.S. appearance at Earth Day Texas before beginning its UK tour in June. (If you’ve missed any of The Polyphonic Spree’s recent music, the group released an album last year titled Yes, It’s True.) Free wristbands for The Polyphonic Spree concert will be available Saturday and Sunday, 10 am-5 pm, in the Earth Day Texas indoor information booths at Fair Park.

There are a limited number of seats, so pick up your wristbands early. The concert will begin at 6 pm on Sunday, April 27, with opening act Howler Jr., a local band made up of Booker T. Washington graduates.

Earth Day Texas will also feature performances of musicians between the ages of 13 and 19 in the inaugural Earth Day Texas Rising Stars Music Competition and Talent Showcase.

“Music and education are extremely important to EDTx,” Cain says. “The EDTx Rising Stars Music Showcase is a great way to celebrate young talent and show event attendees that no matter how young you are, you can make a difference in this world.”

Attendees can also enjoy performances by Broadway Bound, a program offered by Dallas Summer Musicals Academy of Performing Arts. This troupe of young actors and singers travels around Dallas-Fort Worth and performs hits from both current and classic Broadway shows.

Earth Day Texas 2014 and the organization’s ongoing community outreach efforts are possible thanks to the support of its 2014 partners, including BMW of America, NBC 5, Home Depot, Samsung, DART, Radio Disney, Sewell Automotive Companies and U.S. Trust.

All ages are welcome to join Earth Day Texas. Admission is free, and you can even take DART’s Green Line to the Fair Park stop.

For the latest information about Earth Day Texas, visit the website or follow the organization on Facebook and Twitter (@EarthDayTexas). You can also download the iPhone app.

The Polyphonic Spree will headline Earth Day Texas at Fair Park.

Photo courtesy of Earth Day Texas

The Polyphonic Spree will headline Earth Day Texas at Fair Park.

unspecified promoted

income analysis

This is the family income needed for one parent to stay home in Texas

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

The cost of raising a child has ballooned in major metros like Dallas-Fort Worth, forcing many families to weight the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas, that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support their stay-at-home partner and their child, the report found. If both parents worked in the household, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in North Texas, however, is slightly more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $22,337 to raise a child in Dallas-Fort Worth.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report's author says families will look for ways to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family