The frontman of the luxury wedding and event band Jellyroll has agreed to drop the lawsuit against country star Jelly Roll.
In a court filing from Tuesday, July 9, Kurt Titchenell, the leader of Jellyroll — what "is considered the best wedding band in Philadelphia" — agreed to voluntarily drop the copyright infringement claim against Jelly Roll (whose real name is Jason DeFord) permanently.
“The dispute with Jason Bradley DeFord, a.k.a. Jelly Roll, has been resolved, and the legal action has been withdrawn," Titchenell said in a statement on Tuesday, July 9. "We look forward to our continued use of the name, Jellyroll Band, in connection with our party band business.”
Court documents did not indicate that the parties reached a settlement and the dismissal was not signed by Jelly Roll's attorneys.
A rep for Jelly Roll did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
The "Son of a Sinner" singer, 39, was was sued on Monday, April 8, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
In the filing, attorneys for Titchenell requested that Jelly Roll stop using the moniker and claimed the group first adopted the name around 1980 before obtaining a trademark in 2010 and renewing the paperwork in 2019.
According to court documents, Jellyroll has performed at "celebratory and charitable events" in the United States — first in the Delaware Valley and later throughout the Northeast — "since at least 1980."
The suit also claims that the Philly band also played two shows "at the White House for President George W. Bush and his family."
Jelly Roll, who was born in 1984, has discussed how his stage name came from his mother when he was a child. He launched his music career in the early 2000s, though the complaint alleges he didn't adopt his moniker until about 2010. -
For Titchenell, name recognition was the biggest point of contention.
"Prior to the Defendant’s recent rise in notoriety, a search of the name of Jellyroll on most search engines, and particularly Google, returned references to the Plaintiff," the filing read.
Titchenell's attorneys added that Google returned upwards of "18-20 references before any reference to Plaintiff’s entertainment dance band known as Jellyroll® can be found."
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According to the lawsuit, the Jellyroll frontman issued a cease-and-desist to "various addresses believed to be associated with" Jelly Roll and his team, who, at the time, wanted "to discuss" the situation.
"Several conversations ensued and at one point Defendant’s counsel inquired as to whether Defendant really was in competition with Plaintiff," wrote Titchenell's lawyers.
The complaint points out Jelly Roll's forthcoming Beautifully Broken Tour, which features dates in the Northeast and a concert at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia — where much of Jellyroll's business has been conducted.
Attorneys for Titchenell claimed that Jelly Roll's use of the name had caused "confusion in the marketplace as to" which of the artists will be performing at a given event.
Since the release of his 2021 album Ballads of the Broken, Jelly Roll has found mainstream fame with hits including "Need a Favor" and "Save Me."
In 2024, he won threeCMT Music Awardsand twoiHeartRadio Music Awards—and won his first award at theAcademy of Country Music Awards.
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