Musician Oliver Tree, who was born and raised in Santa Cruz and attended San Francisco State, has been confirmed dead following a horrific mid-air crash between two helicopters in Brazil that killed all six passengers onboard.
Oliver Tree was among six people killed Sunday when two helicopters collided midair over Rio de Janeiro and crashed into a car dealership parking lot, sparking a fire that damaged roughly 15 electric vehicles, according to NBC News.
As first reported by the Associated Press, Brazilian authorities said Sunday that Tree’s name appeared on a passenger manifest provided to aviation officials, as investigators were still working to formally identify the victims.
On Tuesday morning, Tree's management, Atlantic Records and Warner Chappell Music, released a statement confirming his death, as SFGate reports. The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
Tree, 32, rose to prominence with viral hits including “Life Goes On” and “Miss You,” building a global following with his offbeat comedy, “redneck chic” persona, and genre-blending music. A graduate of Santa Cruz’s Harbor High School, he began releasing music as a teenager before studying at San Francisco State and later earning a fine arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts. He went on to perform at major festivals including Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Outside Lands.
The crash happened while Tree was touring for his latest album, Love You Madly, Hate You Badly. He had performed in São Paulo earlier this month and was scheduled to continue a lengthy international tour this summer, including August stops in Santa Cruz and Oakland.
Authorities said the other victims included Argentine content creator Gaspar Prim, known online as Gaspi, passengers Lucas Vignale and Lucas Brito Chaves, and pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.
Tributes poured in from across the music and online creator communities, including Tree’s ex-girlfriend, singer Melanie Martinez, remembering Tree for his creativity, humor, and larger-than-life personality. Tree’s father, Jesse Nickell, confirmed to NBC News the family learned of his death from a music producer in Brazil.
Below is a video of Tree performing at Santa Cruz's Rio Theater in 2021.
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Image: Oliver Tree performs onstage during weekend one, day three of Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park on October 09, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Rick Kern/WireImage)
