Nature’s Son Rises: How Of The Trees Found His Forest at Red Rocks

by Michael Ryan · Published November 27, 2024

The hills of Red Rocks may not have eyes, but on this night, they had ears.

Of The Trees recently took over the iconic Colorado venue for a career-defining performance on November 16th, when we experienced the uncompromising energy of a generational artist coming into his own.

"I never imagined taking this project as far as I have," said the DJ, whose real name is Tyler Coombs. "I have always had dreams of being a rock star—ever since I was a little boy, but I'm not sure I ever really grasped what that could mean."

Coombs in 2021 founded Memory Palace, an innovative record label where artists are invited to push boundaries and create phantasmagoric beats that linger in our consciousness, like vivid dreams we can't quite shake. There's an underlying philosophy of music as a form of ecological dialogue, where the label's sounds can communicate deeper truths about interconnectedness.

That's exactly what happened to the sold-out Red Rocks crowd, a gleaming sea of puffer jackets and neon beanies who moved like they were bewitched as lasers sliced through breath visible in the icy mountain air. We weren't just watching—we were being rewired.

Over 6,000 feet above sea level, the dreamlike concert bowl whispered its usual promises of grandeur. But this time, it wasn't just its monoliths speaking—it was Of The Trees, whose sensory sorcery breathed life into the storied amphitheatre and wove its history through nature's exhale.

Coombs, who doubled down with another performance the following night, debuted a stunning new stage production, DJing within an illusory cabin developed by Dark Moon Designs. The modular structure, the studio said, is an aluminum build with wood cladding, dense forest foliage and a rusted roof.

Channeling the surrealist whimsy of Where the Wild Things Are through a rave lens, the cabin turned into a bioluminescent beast before our eyes.

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Inside, an LED screen crackled with timeless woodland charm, often projecting visuals of an antique chair glowing in the amber light of a stone fireplace.

Outside, LED screens behind and beneath the cabin's beams palpitated with primordial visuals of molten sunsets, shivering tree limbs and blooming ecosystems of fractal flora.

Designed by Alec Maassen, the stunning visuals sometimes veered into the dark as well. One moment you were cocooned in the arms of Mother Nature, the next you were wondering whether you've stumbled into a secret forest coven convening under a full moon.

If the cabin was Of The Trees' sanctuary, the music he played was ours. Every snarl of distorted bass felt like the surrounding forest growling back, shaking its roots and dancing with us.

We heard a plethora of unreleased bangers, including a nasty trap track with the surging LYNY and a sublime song Coombs produced alongside the late CharlesTheFirst, who in 2021 tragically died at the age of 25.

Coombs also fluidly threaded his hip-hop influences throughout, creating moments of liquid grace amid the barrage of woozy trap and bass music. An undeniable highlight was when he played an unreleased collaboration with the Grammy-nominated EarthGang duo, whose signature blend of Southern grit and cosmic lyrical curiosity feels like it was written in the stars for Of The Trees' sound.

that new @OfTheTrees X @EarthGang 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/5ZibtAgaXR
— liz🪼 (@lizzyseitzinger) November 17, 2024

Despite the spine-chilling complexion of his set, Coombs is a DJ with the soul of a wandering poet. It was clear why the EDM.com Class of 2024 breakout has emerged as one of the electronic music scene's most gifted storytellers, a reputation he's attained through hard-won authenticity cutting his teeth as a humble producer and visual artist in the frigid plains of Maine.

The most human part of the night, however, wasn't the music or the visuals—it was the artist at the helm. Of The Trees, often silhouetted against his otherworldly cabin, paused frequently to take it all in. Each glance he cast across the amphitheater spoke volumes—disbelief, gratitude, pure unfiltered joy.

His grin, impossible to miss, said what trees never could: this was the dream.

"I looked up at the silhouettes of the famous rocks with my logos on them, at the several thousand faces staring back at me, at all of the stars twinkling in the chilly November sky—and it all hit me super hard," Coombs gushed. “We are really doing this shit."

Fans can now catch Of The Trees on his North American tour, "Moonglade." Tickets are on sale here.