JOPLIN, Mo. — For Father’s Day, my brother and I contemplated buying my dad tickets to see Neil Diamond in concert with the stipulation that we did not have to accompany him.

But the closest the big D is coming to the Joplin area is Chicago, and if my dad is going to make the trek all the way to the Windy City to see a 70-year-old man famous for wearing jewel-encrusted jumpsuits belt out karaoke staples, our obligation to go with him would be much higher.

Instead, I gave my dad a “happy Father’s Day” phone call. I think he loved it. That said, eyeing the calendar for the Neil Diamond tour got me thinking about what concerts I am going to see this summer because I am a self-centered person.

I already shattered my annual budget for music by flying to San Francisco to see Pulp earlier this year, but there are still a few shows I’m going to try to squeeze in, which I’ll share with you. I’ll also point out some acts within driving distance of Joplin I’d recommend seeing.

At the top of my list is the recently announced St. Vincent and David Byrne tour, pairing one of my favorite new artists with one of the all-time greats.

St. Vincent, born Annie Clark, and Byrne, the former singer and principal songwriter for the Talking Heads, are releasing an album together later this year titled “Love This Giant” and are touring in support of it beginning in September.

I’ve seen St. Vincent live a couple times, and Clark is a strong, physical presence who holds your attention without any outsized theatrics. And as for Byrne, go watch “Stop Making Sense” again.

If I can get tickets, I’ll catch the Milwaukee stop of the tour. The closest the duo comes to Joplin is Dallas Ð about a six-hour drive. But if you’re going to drive somewhere in the Midwest for a concert, to get the most bang for your buck, I’d recommend the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago July 13-15.

I’ve attended this festival every year except one since it began in 2006.

While I generally hate music festivals and avoid them, the scope and layout of Pitchfork keeps the crowds manageable so you don’t feel like you showed up merely to watch the bands on a big outdoor screen. Plus, every year the bill is stacked with a variety of great artists bubbling underneath the mainstream.

The artists I’m excited about on this year’s lineup include Dirty Projectors, Lower Dens, Japandroids, The Olivia Tremor Control, Sleigh Bells, Wild Flag, Hot Chip, Danny Brown, Vampire Weekend, Beach House, Grimes, Kendrick Lamar and Ty Segall. For $45 a day, it’s a pretty good deal.

The other show I’ve considered seeing is the big Beach Boys reunion tour, but I can’t quite convince myself that it wouldn’t be hugely depressing. Also, they aren’t playing anywhere close to Joplin.

As for touring acts in the Joplin area, the closest of any note tend to play the casinos Ð though the Dave Matthews Tribute Band will be at Kitchen Pass Aug. 4 Ð and most of those acts are a few years to a decade or more past their prime.

Still, if I had to attend one it’d be Kellie Pickler and Randy Travis at Downstream July 3.

Pickler’s new album “100 Proof” is a decent country album in a traditionalist vein more skillfully mined by Miranda Lambert and while I’ve always found Randy Travis kind of boring, he does have a pleasant voice.

A little further away in Springfield, indie sweethearts Death Cab for Cutie will play Gillioz Theatre July 9, but my pick would be the singer-songwriter John Prine at Gillioz Aug. 24.

Prine is a wonderful eccentric who released a string of classic albums in the ‘70s and is a personal favorite.

At the BOK Center in Tulsa you have a number of options: you could catch the baby-boomer dream team of Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks Aug. 8 or schlock rockers KISS Aug. 26. I, personally, would opt to see country superstar and all-around great dude Brad Paisley at the BOK center Aug. 16.

If we stretch out to Kansas City, the options open up even more.

The dance band Scissor Sisters play the Crossroads Monday. The noise-pop band Sleigh Bells, who put out one of my favorite albums of the year, play the Beaumont Club July 12.

But if you’re going to make the drive to Kansas City, go big and see Fiona Apple, who rarely tours and whose live performances earlier this year at South by Southwest and in New York City wowed spectators and critics with their raw emotional intensity. She plays The Midland by AMC July 17.