James Robert Webb, the doctor from Kellyville who went to Nashville to pursue his music dreams, has an important role in a new Christmas movie called “Music City Mistletoe”—his own.
The hit singer is playing himself in the film. In addition to singing his original song “Fighting for a Dream” on camera, the film’s soundtrack will include his recording “Merry Magical Christmas,” a song he co-wrote with the film’s writer and executive producer, Shantell Ogden, who is also an award-winning Nashville songwriter.
Webb—who has since returned to Tulsa, but continues to release music and book shows—first released the news of his movie appearance in April of this year, when he announced the release of a new album, “Weekend Outlaw.”
“Music City Mistletoe” is a holiday movie that seems eerily similar to Webb’s own story of working a day job while trying to make something happen with a side-hustle or passion. The story takes place in Nashville and, like many holiday movies, involves a conflict between the lead actress and an antagonist that eventually gives way to romance.
For Webb, the movie is checking a box in a bucket list he didn’t know he had.
“I never expected to see myself in a feature film (not on my 2025 bingo card),” he said, “so stepping onto that Nashville set was both surreal and energizing.”
Webb has no problems being on stage or singing in front of a camera, but he said that acting in a scripted story was “new territory.”
“I definitely felt the pressure to rise to the level of the cast, and even though I was playing ‘me,'” he said. “I still had to find the emotional headspace of the character on the page.”
He said the experience was made even better by the team, many of whom were also doing their part for the first time, whether it was writing, acting in a lead role, or something else. “Everyone believed in the project, and that heart shows up on screen,” he says.
Webb said the pressure was intense at first, but once the shooting started, he got more comfortable, saying it “felt a lot like music.”
“You stop thinking and just perform—connect with the story, be present, and trust the moment.”
Though it’s a first experience for Webb and several others, he doesn’t think it’ll be the last for many of them. “If the right story comes along, I’d be excited to step in front of the camera again.”
Music City Mistletoe is currently available to stream on YouTube, Apple TV, and more. See the trailer below.
