Santa Cruz was always home for musician, killed in helicopter crash on world tour

Even after “Life Goes On” singer-songwriter Oliver Tree left Santa Cruz to pursue a global music career, embarking on his first world tour just two weeks ago, he continued to regard the coastal town where he was born as his “nest” where he first learned true “creativity and authenticity.”

“I’ll always be a Santa Cruzean,” Tree said during a 2021 interview with his hometown newspaper, the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Known for his genre-defying music, signature bowl hair cut and retro fashion style, and wholly original performance style, Tree also said about Santa Cruz: “It’s my hometown, where I was born. But there’s a world to go out and see, explore and conquer.”

Tragically, the 32-year-old musician and producer was killed Sunday morning in a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro — shortly after he began to pursue that dream of going out to explore the world, according to the Associated Press and The Guardian, citing several Brazilian media outlets. He was listed as a passenger on one of two helicopters that collided over the western part of the city, killing all six people on both aircraft, The Guardian said. An investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.

Tree had planned his 70-date “World’s First World Tour” to span more than 30 countries, starting in Mexico City on May 30 and ending in Beijing in October, with stops in Santa Cruz and Oakland on Aug. 21 and 22, respectively. The tour was to support his fourth studio album, “Love You Madly, Hate You Badly,” which was entirely self-produced. The tour was canceled in the wake of his death, The Guardian reported.

Tree’s tour included a June 6 performance in São Paulo, Brazil, but none in Rio de Janeiro. As recently as Saturday, he was posting content to social media from his time in Brazil, Variety reported.

According to TMZ, Tree recently recorded a short video in Brazil that showed him goofing around with a friend, digital content creator and influencer Iae Break. But Break was not a passenger on the fatal flight; TMZ said.

Tree, a multi-disciplinary artist who also experimented in comedy, filmmaking and building “the world’s biggest scooter,” was born Oliver Tree Nickell in Santa Cruz in 1993. He called Santa Cruz the place where he first learned “to make art — locking myself away and recording endless albums that would never see the light of day.” He told the Santa Cruz Sentinel: “People are very understanding in a place like Santa Cruz, so they welcome you to let the freak flag fly.”

In another interview with the newspaper, he acknowledged that he was a “bedroom producer” as a teen, using his laptop to make “richly textured and sophisticated songs and soundscapes” in the comfort of his Santa Cruz home.

“To be able to wake up every day and roll out of bed and get on the computer to make my own personal music, and work until 2 or 3 in the morning, that’s my dream job,” Tree said in 2020.

On Sunday, one of Tree’s hometown music venues, the Catalyst Club, posted a tribute to him on Instagram. “The Santa Cruz community has lost an extraordinary artist, neighbor, and friend,” a message read. “Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to his family, loved ones, and everyone in the community he impacted. Rest in peace, Oliver.”

Tree spent his early career producing dubstep and performing in the San Francisco Bay Area under the artist name “Tree,” Variety reported. He debuted his first EP, “Demons,” in 2013 under R&S Records.

Tree signed to Atlantic Records in 2017 after his song “When I’m Down” went viral. He released his debut studio album, “Ugly Is Beautiful,” in 2020 and achieved international recognition with “Life Goes On” in 2021 and “Miss You” in 2022.

In his 2020 interview with the Santa Cruz Sentinel, which took place during the pandemic, he spoke about being “done with music,” saying he had accomplished being signed by a major label and felt he had already written 1,000 songs for “Ugly is Beautiful.”

“I don’t feel the need to make any more now,” Tree said.

And, yet, Tree returned to making music, releasing his second studio album, “Cowboy Tears,” which featured his singles, “Cowboy Tears” and “Freaks & Geeks.”

In addition to writing and producing his music, Tree also had a passion for directing, helming his own music videos, the Hollywood Reporter also said. Moreover, he developed a significant following on social media, especially on TikTok, where he had gained close to 16 million followers. His video for “Life Goes On” also was viewed more than 467 million times.

In 2020, he broke the Guinness world record for building the largest scooter at 13 feet tall and 10 feet long, saying that this feat, too, was to “fulfil a lifelong dream.”