Matt Roman has been a leading light of the Lehigh Valley music scene for years.

Now he is fighting to survive.

Guitarist, bassist and singer Roman was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease some years ago. He has also had colon cancer, which fortunately is now in remission.

To help Roman with his medical bills, “Our Might for Matt’s Fight: Fundraising Concert for Matt Roman” is 3 - 9 p.m. Jan. 27, Charles A. Brown IceHouse, 56 River St., Bethlehem.

The schedule is 3 p.m., Friends of Tom; 4 p.m., Smooth Retsina Glow; 5 p.m., Big Handsome; 6 p.m., Ronnie Rock’s Trendsetters; 7 p.m. Mississippi Pig Farmers, and 8 p.m. jam session.

It’s a Lehigh River Blues Jam and Godfrey Daniels event. Sound and Light is by Son Light Productions.

In a phone call from his home in Perkasie, Roman talks about his varied career. He toured overseas with his punk band The Fux. He has opened for Ray Manzarek of the Doors, Billy Cox of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and blues harpist James Cotton.

Locally, he has been in the bands Kind of Blue, Roman and the Heard, Barrymon’s Native I&I, the Hard Lickers and Glue Factory.

He also played with the late Daniel “Dutchman” Diefenderfer in the Dutch’s Basement Blues Band and as a duo with him. “We were a nice combination, and he was a great writing partner. All he played was the blues, and I didn’t know anything about it at the time.”

Roman was born in Allentown, attended Allentown Central Catholic High School and graduated from William Allen High School. He began playing guitar when he was eight-years-old. He has written that his early projects were “various bands of drug-induced failures,” and he suffered from substance abuse, which led to some jail time.

“When I got out, I stopped partying and started to get successful. I got The Fux band together.” The name, which you cannot say on most radio programs, indicates the rebellious nature of the group.

“If someone objected to the name, we didn’t belong there. It eliminated the guesswork. We were tired of trying to conform to the standards of radio.”

Roman used to light his guitar on fire, a trick he adopted from Jimi Hendrix. He took it further by playing the guitar with his teeth while it was still burning.

“We started playing out of town and went to New York City often. We were regulars at CBGB. We toured the UK and in Europe, mostly in former Communist places in Germany but also Czechoslovakia and Italy.

“The second UK tour was rough. After that I started going to blues jams. I ran many of them, including Grumpy’s [in the Allentown area] for eight years and the Washington House [next to the Sellersville Theater] for 10.

“This show is for my second skirt with death. I had a benefit in 2014 after a bout of hepatitis. I’ll be selling some of my equipment to get by. There might be a silent auction for some of it.” The auction will include guitars and effects pedals.

“I’m still teaching and can play a bit, but I don’t feel good about playing. I have difficulty in speaking and I’m shaking a little. I expect to be at the show, but I don’t think that I will play.”

Roman has a connection to the bands that will appear at the benefit. Colin Wolf of Smooth Retsina Glow was one of his guitar students, and he has played bass with the Trendsetters.

Smooth Retsina Glow and Big Handsome are younger rock trios. Friends of Tom combines rock, blues and country. The Trendsetters evolved from 1980s’ new wave. The Mississippi Pig Farmers are a long-established Lehigh Valley blues band.

Ticket information: https://www.icehousetonight.org/events

Matt Roman GoFundMe page: www.gofundme.com/f/cancer-and-parkinsons-disease