diff --git a/beets/library.py b/beets/library.py
index a63694804..4e5d9ccf6 100644
--- a/beets/library.py
+++ b/beets/library.py
@@ -1476,7 +1476,6 @@ class DefaultTemplateFunctions(object):
 
         # Assign a left and right bracket or leave blank if argument is empty.
         if len(bracket) == 2:
-            bracket = list(bracket)
             bracket_l = bracket[0]
             bracket_r = bracket[1]
         else: