It’s been over 25 years since Almost Famous first hit theaters, and yet, every time that "Tiny Dancer" bus scene starts, I’m right back there with William Miller and the Stillwater crew.

What he saw was not the sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll fantasy sold on album covers. He saw loneliness. He saw the exhaustion of the road. He saw the quiet struggle between artistic integrity and commercial pressure. He also saw the "Band-Aids"—the groupies, the fans, the girls who lived for the music just as much as the musicians did.

Then there is Penny Lane. In what remains one of the most iconic performances of the 21st century, Kate Hudson created a character that redefined the "groupie" archetype. Penny is not a groupie; she is a "Band-Aid," a distinction she makes fiercely. She is there for the music, not just the sex. She is the queen of the scene, a mysterious, glamorous figure who seems to hold all the power, yet finds herself heartbreakingly vulnerable when the reality of the industry collides with her romanticized view of it.