MANAGEMENT TELLS ME HE PLAYED HERE TWICE — AND WAS TRULY A LOCAL GEM. BEFORE HE WAS A GLOBAL SENSATION — OLIVER TREE WAS CAPTIVATING LOCAL AUDIENCES RIGHT HERE ON THE CENTRAL COAST. TONIGHT — THAT VERY SAME STAGE IS PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE SANTA CRUZ NATIVE — LEAVING FANS IN ABSOLUTE SHOCK. <“I WAS ACTUALLY, LIKE, IN SHOCK. I WAS LIKE, THERE’S NO WAY. AND PEOPLE IN, LIKE, REDDIT WERE SAYING LIKE, OH, IT’S NOT REAL. AND I WAS LIKE, CONFUSED” > <“WHENEVER I HEAR NEWS LIKE THAT, LIKE I’M 27 LIKE THAT, THAT’S LIKE CRAZY TO ME THAT SOMEONE THAT YOUNG COULD PASS.” > THE 32-YEAR-OLD WAS MIDWAY THROUGH A GLOBAL TOUR — WITH A HIGHLY ANTICIPATED HOMECOMING SHOW BOOKED AT THE QUARRY AMPHITHEATER THIS AUGUST. <“SANTA CRUZ IS A PRETTY SMALL COMMUNITY. AND SO YOU DON’T SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT GROW OUT, YOU KNOW, BEYOND, PLAYING NATIONAL TOURS AS MUCH, YOU KNOW, LET ALONE WORLDWIDE TOURS. AND SO, YEAH, IT WAS REALLY EXCITING. I KNOW HE HAD A LOT OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS AROUND HERE, AND, YEAH, WE WERE WAITING. HIS ARRIVAL” > WHILE THE COMMUNITY MOURNS A LOSS TIMED SO CLOSE TO HIS RETURN — FANS ARE SPENDING THE DAY REVISITING THE MEMORIES AND VIRAL VIDEOS THAT STARTED IT ALL. <“I WOULD LISTEN TO STUFF LIKE. LIKE ON DRIVES AND JUST, LIKE, WATCH HIS VINES AND, LIKE, RECREATE IT WITH MY FRIENDS. LIKE HIS SCOOTER VINES. I WOULD RECREATE IT AND JUST, LIKE, CONSTANTLY REFERENCE IT WITH MY FRIENDS> AND THROUGH ALL THE SUCCESS — FANS SAY HE’LL BE REMEMBERED BEST FOR THE WAY HE ALWAYS STAYED TRUE TO HIMSELF. <“HE JUST LIKE, WASN’T SCARED TO, LIKE, DO WEIRD THINGS, AND, LIKE, HE OBVIOUSLY, LIKE, HAD, LIKE, THE BOOK AND THEN TURNED IT INTO, LIKE, THE MULLET BOUQUET. AND IT WAS JUST LIKE HE WASN’T SCARED TO DO WEIRD THINGS AT A TIME WHEN, LIKE, EVERYTHING WAS LIKE, VERY LIKE NORMAL, NORMAL CORE.” > <“IF YOU LISTEN TO HIS MUSIC, YOU SEE, IS, LIVE PERFORMANCES, HIS PHOTOS. HE REALLY DID THAT. AND SO, YOU KNOW, AND THAT’S ALSO A TESTAMENT TO WHY I THINK HE WAS PLAYING SO MANY STAGES, WHY HE REACHED SO MANY FANS WORLDWIDE WAS BECAUSE PEOPLE CONNECTED TO THAT AND, YEAH, YEAH, I THINK PEOPLE ARE REALLY GOING TO MISS THAT SENSE OF AUTHENTICITY.” > FANS SAY THAT AUTHENTICITY WAS INSPIRING — AND THAT THE MUSIC WORLD HAS LOST A TRUE TALENT
Oliver Tree remembered as a ‘local gem’ as Santa Cruz honors musician after helicopter crash
Fans and the Santa Cruz community are remembering musician Oliver Tree, who died in a helicopter crash in Brazil over the weekend.
Updated: 6:17 PM PDT Jun 15, 2026
Santa Cruz is paying tribute to Oliver Tree, a globally recognized musician and local native, who was among seven people killed in a helicopter crash in Brazil over the weekend. The Rio Theatre, where Tree performed twice, is one of many local venues honoring his memory. Management described him as “a local gem.” Fans expressed disbelief at the news. “I was actually in shock. I was like, there’s no way. And people on Reddit were saying, ‘Oh, it’s not real.’ And I was like, confused,” one fan, Isabella Ng, said. Another fan reflected on the tragedy of losing someone so young. “Whenever I hear news like that, like I’m 27, like that, that’s crazy to me that someone that young could pass,” another fan, Kellie Bowman, said. Tree, 32, was in the middle of a global tour and had a highly anticipated homecoming show scheduled at the Quarry Amphitheater in Santa Cruz this August. “Santa Cruz is a pretty small community. And so you don’t see a lot of people that grow out, beyond, playing national tours as much, let alone worldwide tours. It was really exciting. I know he had a lot of family and friends around here, and we were waiting. His arrival,” said Danny Osorio, assistant manager at the Quarry Amphitheater. As the community mourns his loss, fans are revisiting the memories and viral videos that made Tree a global sensation. “I would listen to stuff on drives and watch his vines and recreate it with my friends. Like his scooter vines. I would recreate it and constantly reference it with my friends,” Ng said. Fans say Tree will be remembered for his authenticity and individuality. “He just wasn’t scared to do weird things, and he obviously had the book and then turned it into the mullet bouquet. He wasn’t scared to do weird things at a time when everything was very normal, normal core,” Ng said. Another fan highlighted how Tree’s authenticity resonated with audiences worldwide. “If you listen to his music, you see his live performances, his photos. He really did that. And so that’s also a testament to why I think he was playing so many stages, why he reached so many fans worldwide, was because people connected to that. I think people are really going to miss that sense of authenticity,” Osorio said. Fans say Tree’s inspiring authenticity and talent will leave a lasting impact on the music world.
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. —
Santa Cruz is paying tribute to Oliver Tree, a globally recognized musician and local native, who was among seven people killed in a helicopter crash in Brazil over the weekend.
The Rio Theatre, where Tree performed twice, is one of many local venues honoring his memory.
Management described him as “a local gem.”
Fans expressed disbelief at the news.
“I was actually in shock. I was like, there’s no way. And people on Reddit were saying, ‘Oh, it’s not real.’ And I was like, confused,” one fan, Isabella Ng, said.
Another fan reflected on the tragedy of losing someone so young.
“Whenever I hear news like that, like I’m 27, like that, that’s crazy to me that someone that young could pass,” another fan, Kellie Bowman, said.
Tree, 32, was in the middle of a global tour and had a highly anticipated homecoming show scheduled at the Quarry Amphitheater in Santa Cruz this August.
“Santa Cruz is a pretty small community. And so you don’t see a lot of people that grow out, beyond, playing national tours as much, let alone worldwide tours. It was really exciting. I know he had a lot of family and friends around here, and we were waiting. His arrival,” said Danny Osorio, assistant manager at the Quarry Amphitheater.
As the community mourns his loss, fans are revisiting the memories and viral videos that made Tree a global sensation.
“I would listen to stuff on drives and watch his vines and recreate it with my friends. Like his scooter vines. I would recreate it and constantly reference it with my friends,” Ng said.
Fans say Tree will be remembered for his authenticity and individuality.
“He just wasn’t scared to do weird things, and he obviously had the book and then turned it into the mullet bouquet. He wasn’t scared to do weird things at a time when everything was very normal, normal core,” Ng said.
Another fan highlighted how Tree’s authenticity resonated with audiences worldwide.
“If you listen to his music, you see his live performances, his photos. He really did that. And so that’s also a testament to why I think he was playing so many stages, why he reached so many fans worldwide, was because people connected to that. I think people are really going to miss that sense of authenticity,” Osorio said.
Fans say Tree’s inspiring authenticity and talent will leave a lasting impact on the music world.