David Cancino

[Oliver Tree @Olivertree]

Oliver Nickell

June 29th, 1993 – June 14th, 2026

Oliver Tree Nickell, beloved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend, passed away in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday, June 14, 2026, in a tragic accident at the age of 32. Known as Oliver Tree, he was an artist, storyteller, singer, songwriter, producer, director, editor, actor, filmmaker, entertainer, traveler and creative force; he had just performed in São Paulo as part of his 7-continent world tour.

Oliver was born in Santa Cruz, California. From the beginning, Oliver always had the most astonishing and relentless creative drive. He began producing skits, music, and drawings as early as 5 years old. He spent ten years racing BMX, cycle cross, cross country, mountain biking, downhill racing and free-style dirt jumping. Oliver was a DJ in his teenage years and started performing shows under the name "Kryph", where he opened up for big artists in the dance scene. At 17, he signed with R&S Records, under the moniker "Tree", where he put out his first official body of work "Splitting Branches”. During this period, he attended San Francisco State University and later graduated from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 2017. At CalArts, Oliver created the “Oliver Tree” project, which included producing, directing, acting, touring, film-making, and song-writing.

In 2016, “Turbo” was born, a character he developed for the internet, who was loud, colorful, bright and hilarious. That same year, he released his first single on all platforms as Oliver Tree, in collaboration with Whethan titled "When I'm Down". The song became a huge success and went gold. In 2017, Oliver signed with Atlantic Records and shortly after released his first viral hit song “Alien Boy” which was produced with his childhood friend Casey Mattson, as well as frequent collaborator Imad Royal. It was a song that truly encapsulated the Oliver Tree brand. Oliver then went on to release his debut album “Ugly Is Beautiful”, which hit the top 15 of Billboard 200 and reached number 1 on Billboard‘s Top Rock Albums and Alternative Albums charts. Oliver also released a deluxe version of the album which included the song "Life Goes On", a track that was produced with long-time friend and collaborator Getter. This song propelled Oliver into a global audience and was a commercial hit. Followed by the success of Oliver’s song "Miss You”, with Robin Schulz, which became a worldwide hit and was nominated for Best International Song (The BRIT Awards) in 2024.

Oliver never stopped reinventing himself. Each album featured a distinct character in the Oliver Tree universe: Turbo for “Ugly is Beautiful” in 2020, Shawney Bravo for “Cowboy Tears" in 2022, Cornelius Cummings for “Alone in A Crowd" in 2023 up until "Love You Madly Hate You Badly” in 2026, where he removed the fake personas and decided to show the world his true self for his final album which was 100% written and produced by Oliver.

Oliver had a deep curiosity about the world and wanted to experience every country and culture. Over the past two years, Oliver was a global citizen, visiting over 100 countries: eating local cuisine; connecting with locals of all kinds; participating in ceremonies; giving concerts; and recording music on his laptop. He went to the Middle East, sailed in Antarctica and became an honorary Maasai tribal chief in Tanzania.

Oliver was more than a musician; he was a true artist in every sense of the
word, seeing the world as a stage for his performance art. He pushed boundaries in every form of media and life. Oliver was on a mission to bring the world together through art and inspiring other artists to create. Being a forward thinker, Oliver created a non-profit entitled "Dr. Oliver Tree's Extremely Epic Art Grant for Baby Geniuses”. He wanted all of his money to go into funding other aspiring artists in all facets: music, film, installation and performance art projects.

Oliver cared so deeply about spreading art, joy, laughter and love into the world. He blended his characters seamlessly with his authentic self, which left the audience often wondering what is real or a prank. He found beauty in the ordinary and would constantly preach his "Ugly Is Beautiful" mantra on and off stage. He wanted everyone to feel like they had a place to be themselves. Under all the absurdist humor and outlandish stunts, he wanted to create an inclusive environment where everyone belonged and could realize their true potential.

Oliver was a creative force of nature, a true “Alien Boy” among human beings. His imagination was boundless, his laugh was contagious and his creativity and ideas were prolific.

Oliver is survived by his parents, Jesse & Christine Nickell of Santa Cruz, brother Jessup (Zoe), Grandmothers Ann Begin & Lorraine Nickell, Aunts Cynthia Begin, Mia Begin (Bill Schroeder), Uncle Dan Begin (Melissa), Aunts Sheree Kouffeld (Dave Christopher) and Jan Lamascus (Marvin), many beloved cousins, Beth, Breanna, Kaitlin, Kimmy, Maggie, Meadow and Nicolas; and numerous friends worldwide. He considered his team and colleagues his family: Dan Awad, Paul Donatelli; his bandmates: Casey Mattson, Amir Oosman, Jake Jamieson, Jmsey; his creative collaborators: Ethan Snoreck aka Whethan; Ryan Farber; Steve Zilberman; Jacob Dennis; Sebastian Hackett; his love Fiona Chernavskaya, as well as many others who touched his project and helped him execute his vision, who are too innumerable to be named.

We’ll leave you with a quote which Oliver said at almost every show he performed at, his mantra to the world: “No matter how strange you think you look, no matter how ugly you feel, you are beautiful.”

A celebration of his life / memorial service will be held at the UCSC Quarry Amphitheater on July 25th. Due to limited space for family and friends, this event will also be streamed live.

Donations: The family requests donations be made to “Dr. Oliver Tree's Extremely Epic Art Grant for Baby Geniuses”. Oliver’s vision is to support and encourage young artists to follow their dreams. See more at https://t.co/XY1lQhixpQ

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