Oliver Tree was remembered by friends, family and collaborators on Saturday (July 25) at a public “Celebration of Life” held in his native Santa Cruz, California, six weeks after the singer died in a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro at 32.
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The ceremony, held at Santa Cruz’s Quarry Amphitheater, leaned into the surreal, absurdist sensibility that defined Tree’s career. In front of the stage, three mannequins dressed as the singer — in his signature bright windbreakers, sunglasses, cowboy hats and blunt bowl cuts — were laid out in coffins.
Diplo and Logan Paul were among the speakers. Diplo called Tree the coolest person he’d ever met, while Paul — a close friend — delivered a eulogy in keeping with Tree’s own comedic spirit, ribbing the singer’s hair and joking that he was “watching us all from somewhere in the heavens,” likely “super disappointed in this production.”
“Oliver was everyone’s best friend. He was an adventurer with an incomparable zest for life and the ultimate ability to make anyone feel seen and heard,” he said. “Oliver is a generational artist whose legacy and music will last forever, and he’d be proud of all of us for keeping our heads up high by celebrating the impact of his time here on Earth, because at the end of the day, life goes on.”
Tree’s parents also addressed the crowd, saying, “I think Oliver would say trust yourself, get off the couch, produce art, and it’s really important to get in there and get your hands dirty.”. They added, “He was a doer.”
All proceeds benefited Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant for Baby Geniuses, a foundation the singer’s estate launched in accordance with his will. In the months before his death, Tree had been outspoken about his intention to leave his wealth to emerging artists rather than his family. “The idea is, when I die, all the money is going to go back to artists,” he said on an April episode of the Zach Sang Show.
Tree, born Oliver Tree Nickell, built a singular career across music, filmmaking and viral internet spectacle, frequently working through absurdist alter egos and elaborate visual worlds. He released four major-label studio albums through Atlantic Records — Ugly Is Beautiful (2020), Cowboy Tears (2022), Alone in a Crowd (2023) and Love You Madly Hate You Badly (2026), the last of which he described as the first made without a character. His debut Ugly Is Beautiful entered the Billboard 200 at No. 14 and topped Billboard’s Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart, while its single “Life Goes On” reached No. 7 on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. His Robin Schulz collaboration “Miss You” climbed to No. 4 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs in 2022 and earned a 2024 BRIT Award nomination for Best International Song.
