A Firm Handshake

Based out of Stillwater, Minnesota, indie folk duo A Firm Handshake formed in 2012 around lifelong friends Zach Sobiech and Sammy Brown. Sobiech began writing songs soon after being diagnosed in 2009 (at the age of 14) with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, as a way to both come to terms with and talk about his illness with friends and family. His song "Clouds" and its accompanying YouTube video made him an Internet sensation, garnering worldwide attention for both him and his band. In 2012 Sobiech was told that he had months to a year to live, so he started the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund and devoted his remaining days to writing and performing, raising both money and awareness for the disease. Sobiech passed away on May 20, 2013, just three months after the release of the duo's Fix Me Up EP. "Clouds" debuted at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 shortly after.