If you're new to the area (and maybe even if you're not), the local music scene might seem like a large, confusing and far-flung mass of bands. But the only way to get caught up is to jump right in. So here's an introduction to Triangle music in seven easy steps, covering a swath of bands you should see. This won't give you a comprehensive view, but it's a start:

(1) John Dee Holeman and Cool John Ferguson (tonight, American Tobacco Warehouse, Durham) -- The venerable Holeman is a peerless Piedmont bluesman, capable of putting down deep blues in either acoustic or electric settings. This show pairs him with Ferguson, one of the finest blues-rock guitarists on earth.

(2) Double Negative (Sunday, Cat's Cradle, Carrboro) -- Double Negative is a hard-core band of scathing intensity, old-school style. This is a perfect place to get a taste because it's a benefit for Cy Rawls, universally beloved local-music fan, who is battling a brain tumor; and the bill also features Polvo, an acclaimed 1990s-vintage buzz band that recently reunited.

(3) Red Collar (Thursday, Pour House, Raleigh) -- The shorthand description of Red Collar is Fugazi plus Bruce Springsteen. That is accurate as far as it goes but doesn't come anywhere close to conveying this band's epic grandeur. One of the best live-performance ensembles in the area -- they will win you over.

(4) Inflowential (Aug. 23, Nash Square, Raleigh) -- This event is an Obama-for-president rally, a place where Inflowential's genre-busting hip-hop should go over well. Inflowential recently released a solid album, after an impressive run in mtvU's "Best Music on Campus" this past spring (they were one of three first-place winners).

(5) Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies (Aug. 23, Slim's, Raleigh) -- After Inflowential finishes up at the Obama rally, stick around downtown Raleigh to catch this Chapel Hill quintet, which conjures up brightly colored shades of '60s psychedelic pop.

(6) Rosebuds (Aug. 29, Cat's Cradle) -- Rosebuds have a spectacular album on the way, "Life Like" (out Oct. 7 on Merge Records), which should raise their national profile even higher. This show is another Cy Rawls benefit, and it also features the Chapel Hill heritage act Superchunk and the always-raucous Birds of Avalon.

(7) Megafaun (Sept. 5, Bull City Headquarters, Durham) -- Megafaun plays deep-rooted American folk music with a streak of skronky improvisation, especially recommended if you like audience participation. Almost every show finds them wandering into the audience to hand out noisemakers, so you can bang along. Also on this bill, the swell piano-rock stylings of Goner.

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