There’s an expectation to be challenged while being entertained when one takes a seat at a Southern Exposure New Music Series concert. At “Polygraph Lounge with Melissa Fathman,” the performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the USC School of Music recital hall, one should expect a lot of laughing, too. Polygraph Lounge is the musical comedy duo of pianist Rob Schwimmer and guitarist Mark Stewart. Together, they pair oddball compositions and arrangements with a similar brand of humor. Both are accomplished sidemen (which probably explains their fondness for cutting up. Anyone got any decent “Friends” jokes?), and Stewart has been Paul Simon’s music director since 1998. Fathman is a soprano who frequently joins in the musical fun. The program includes: two song arrangements for soprano, guitar and piano by Pulitzer-Prize-winning composer David Lang; Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint” for electric guitar and pre-recorded guitars; “No Place to Go But Around,” Frederic Rzewski’s piano variations; and John Cage’s “Aria.” Schwimmer will also play a theremin, and Stewart will break out his own homemade instruments. The duo will host master classes at USC at 7:30 and 8:45 p.m. Thursday, and there is a presentation, “Make Me an Instrument: Building a Musical Identity,” at 1:25 p.m. Friday. All the programming is free. The school of music is at 813 Assembly St. Free; (803) 777-4280

Tatsuya Nakatani, a contemporary and textural percussionist, will perform at 8 tonight at Conundrum Music Hall. Solo percussion, in Nakatani’s capable hands, rises to an orchestral level. bigSphinx, the solo laptop and synth project helmed by Tom Law, Conundrum’s owner, will open. Conundrum is at 626 Meeting St., West Columbia. $8; www.conundrum.us

An installment of the Jasper Salon Series, The Little Prince for Adults, will be held at the arts magazine’s Arcade Mall studio at 7 p.m. Thursday. There will be a lecture on the making of “The Little Prince,” Columbia City Ballet’s upcoming production. Speakers include William Starrett, the ballet’s artistic director, as well as Alexis Doctor, costume designer; Phillip Ingrassia, soloist; and Regina Willoughby, ballerina. The Arcade Mall is at 1332 Main St.; jaspercolumbia.net

“Meet the Designers: Runaway Runway,” a community gallery installation at the Columbia Museum of Art, opens at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The annual fashion show of recycled goods is also accepting entries for the sixth annual event. Garments must be made from recycled materials, and entrants are required to attend a rehearsal. There is no age or garment limit. Entry is $30; $15 for students. Designers with multiple outfits will get a discount. Of course, this event has grown to the point where it can be selective about what makes the competition. In other words, the days of designers throwing something together and calling it fashion are done. The registration deadline is March 22. The museum is at Main and Hampton streets, and the exhibition opening is free. For more on Runaway Runway, visit. www.columbiadesignleague.org.

Jason Ajemian, an industrious bassist who is at his best when he adds vocal inflections to his performance, will perform a solo show at 8:30 p.m. Monday at if ART Gallery, 1223 Lincoln St. $5; (803) 255-0068

“Boeing-Boeing,” a play about an architect’s dalliances with three fiancees who are flight attendants, opens Friday at Longstreet Theatre. Theatre SC’s production of the French farce follows Bernard, an American living in Paris in the ’60s. Somehow he is able to keep the relationships aloft, something that seems impossible in an era before flight schedules were available on handsets. The play runs through March 2. Showtimes: 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Feb. 24. There is a half-price 11 p.m. show March 2. The theater is at 1300 Greene St. $12-$18; (803) 777-2551

“Cica New Music,” a student new music series, will feature premieres by four composers at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the USC School of Music recital hall. The program includes more than 30 student performers and conductors. The premiere works: “Cycles of the Moon,” a viola concerto by Charleston-based composer Ayala Asherov-Kalus, that will include featured violist Andrae Raeffield accompanied by a string orchestra, as well as photographs by local artist Stephen Chesley; live accompaniment to “Dialectic,” a short film by Nick Coyle’s that features the score by masters student Isaac Brockshus; “Acts from an Exhibition of Living Curiosities” by undergraduate composition student David Clay Mettens; and variations on “In Dulce Jubilo” by doctoral student Reed Hanna. Also on the program: John Adams’ 1973 work “Christian Zeal and Activity,” a performance that will have “found sound” compiled by masters student Chris Johnson. The school of music is at 813 Assembly St. Free; (803) 777-4280

“The Greatest (Art) Show on Earth,” a show that opened at Gallery 80808 on Valentine’s Day, features eight local artists who studied at the Ringling School of Art and Design. The artists: Jeff Donovan, Roy Paschal, Sally Plaxco Wallace, Trahern Cook, Dennis Craighead, Dan Greshel, Randall McKissick and Hannah Tvedten. The show runs through Tuesday. The gallery is at 808 Lady St.; (415) 810-5380

Arts at Shandon will host a chamber music concert featuring members of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Shandon Presbyterian Church. This is the second of a three concerts in the chamber music series. Phillip Bush, a pianist on the USC School of Music’s faculty, will also perform. A reception will follow. The church is at 607 Woodrow St. $10; (803) 771-4408, ext. 27, or www.shandonpres.org