diff --git a/beets/dbcore/db.py b/beets/dbcore/db.py
index 43c044572..97a4a7ce3 100755
--- a/beets/dbcore/db.py
+++ b/beets/dbcore/db.py
@@ -850,16 +850,21 @@ class Database(object):
     """A container for Model objects that wraps an SQLite database as
     the backend.
     """
+
     _models = ()
     """The Model subclasses representing tables in this database.
     """
 
+    supports_extensions = hasattr(sqlite3.Connection, 'enable_load_extension')
+    """Whether or not the current version of SQLite supports extensions"""
+
     def __init__(self, path, timeout=5.0):
         self.path = path
         self.timeout = timeout
 
         self._connections = {}
         self._tx_stacks = defaultdict(list)
+        self._extensions = []
 
         # A lock to protect the _connections and _tx_stacks maps, which
         # both map thread IDs to private resources.
@@ -909,6 +914,13 @@ class Database(object):
             py3_path(self.path), timeout=self.timeout
         )
 
+        if self.supports_extensions:
+            conn.enable_load_extension(True)
+
+            # Load any extension that are already loaded for other connections.
+            for path in self._extensions:
+                conn.load_extension(path)
+
         # Access SELECT results like dictionaries.
         conn.row_factory = sqlite3.Row
         return conn
@@ -937,6 +949,18 @@ class Database(object):
         """
         return Transaction(self)
 
+    def load_extension(self, path):
+        """Load an SQLite extension into all open connections."""
+        if not self.supports_extensions:
+            raise ValueError(
+                    'this sqlite3 installation does not support extensions')
+
+        self._extensions.append(path)
+
+        # Load the extension into every open connection.
+        for conn in self._connections.values():
+            conn.load_extension(path)
+
     # Schema setup and migration.
 
     def _make_table(self, table, fields):
diff --git a/beetsplug/loadext.py b/beetsplug/loadext.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5ab98bd59
--- /dev/null
+++ b/beetsplug/loadext.py
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+# This file is part of beets.
+# Copyright 2019, Jack Wilsdon <jack.wilsdon@gmail.com>
+#
+# Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
+# a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
+# "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
+# without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
+# distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
+# permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
+# the following conditions:
+#
+# The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
+# included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
+
+"""Load SQLite extensions.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import division, absolute_import, print_function
+
+from beets.dbcore import Database
+from beets.plugins import BeetsPlugin
+import sqlite3
+
+
+class LoadExtPlugin(BeetsPlugin):
+    def __init__(self):
+        super(LoadExtPlugin, self).__init__()
+
+        if not Database.supports_extensions:
+            self._log.warn('loadext is enabled but the current SQLite '
+                           'installation does not support extensions')
+            return
+
+        self.register_listener('library_opened', self.library_opened)
+
+    def library_opened(self, lib):
+        for v in self.config:
+            ext = v.as_filename()
+
+            self._log.debug(u'loading extension {}', ext)
+
+            try:
+                lib.load_extension(ext)
+            except sqlite3.OperationalError as e:
+                self._log.error(u'failed to load extension {}: {}', ext, e)
diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index ffe8bdcac..2ccfbadb5 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -94,6 +94,9 @@ New features:
   :bug:`3205` :bug:`800`
 * :doc:`/plugins/bpd`: MPD protocol command ``decoders`` is now supported.
   :bug:`3222`
+* The new :doc:`/plugins/loadext` allows loading of SQLite extensions, primarily
+  for use with the ICU SQLite extension for internationalization.
+  :bug:`3160` :bug:`3226`
 
 Changes:
 
diff --git a/docs/plugins/index.rst b/docs/plugins/index.rst
index 173aab5db..e885db39b 100644
--- a/docs/plugins/index.rst
+++ b/docs/plugins/index.rst
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ like this::
    kodiupdate
    lastgenre
    lastimport
+   loadext
    lyrics
    mbcollection
    mbsubmit
@@ -189,6 +190,7 @@ Miscellaneous
 * :doc:`hook`: Run a command when an event is emitted by beets.
 * :doc:`ihate`: Automatically skip albums and tracks during the import process.
 * :doc:`info`: Print music files' tags to the console.
+* :doc:`loadext`: Load SQLite extensions.
 * :doc:`mbcollection`: Maintain your MusicBrainz collection list.
 * :doc:`mbsubmit`: Print an album's tracks in a MusicBrainz-friendly format.
 * :doc:`missing`: List missing tracks.
diff --git a/docs/plugins/loadext.rst b/docs/plugins/loadext.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5acd10ec7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/plugins/loadext.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+Load Extension Plugin
+=====================
+
+Beets uses an SQLite database to store and query library information, which
+has support for extensions to extend its functionality. The ``loadext`` plugin
+lets you enable these SQLite extensions within beets.
+
+One of the primary uses of this within beets is with the `"ICU" extension`_,
+which adds support for case insensitive querying of non-ASCII characters.
+
+.. _"ICU" extension: https://www.sqlite.org/src/dir?ci=7461d2e120f21493&name=ext/icu
+
+Configuration
+-------------
+
+To configure the plugin, make a ``loadext`` section in your configuration
+file. The section must consist of a list of paths to extensions to load, which
+looks like this:
+
+.. code-block:: yaml
+
+    loadext:
+      - libicu
+
+If a relative path is specified, it is resolved relative to the beets
+configuration directory.
+
+If no file extension is specified, the default dynamic library extension for
+the current platform will be used.
+
+Building the ICU extension
+--------------------------
+This section is for **advanced** users only, and is not an in-depth guide on
+building the extension.
+
+To compile the ICU extension, you will need a few dependencies:
+
+ - gcc
+ - icu-devtools
+ - libicu
+ - libicu-dev
+ - libsqlite3-dev
+
+Here's roughly how to download, build and install the extension (although the
+specifics may vary from system to system):
+
+.. code-block:: shell
+
+    $ wget https://sqlite.org/2019/sqlite-src-3280000.zip
+    $ unzip sqlite-src-3280000.zip
+    $ cd sqlite-src-3280000/ext/icu
+    $ gcc -shared -fPIC icu.c `icu-config --ldflags` -o libicu.so
+    $ cp libicu.so ~/.config/beets