Gert Keunen (1969) is a lecturer, publicist and musician/producer. He holds a doctorate in cultural sociology and teaches music history, music sociology and music production at KASK & Conservatorium in Ghent and Ritcs in Brussels. Previously, he also taught at PXL Music in Hasselt and Fontys Hogeschool voor de Kunsten/Rockacademie in Tilburg, was label manager at record company Zomba/Rough Trade, music programmer at arts centre Vooruit in Ghent and freelance music journalist for De Standaard, De Morgen and Gonzo Circus. He also served for many years on the Music Assessment Committee of the Flemish Community. He is the author of Surfing On Pop Waves. Een kwarteeuw popmuziek (Kritak, 1996), Pop! Een Halve Eeuw Beweging (Lannoo, 2002), Alternatieve Mainstream - Over selectiemechanismen in het popmuziekcircuit (LannooCampus, 2013) and Een Eeuw Popmuziek - Van Crooners tot Dubstep (Lannoo, 2015).
For those books, he received the Fontys Research Prize in 2013 and the East Flanders Culture Prize 2016 in 2016. Under the pseudonym Briskey, as musician/composer/bandleader, he released the CDs Cucumber Lodge (2003), Scarlett Roadhouse (2006), Briskey Big Band Live At Ancienne Belgique (2008) and Before-during-after (2009). With the Briskey live band and the Briskey Big Band, he has since performed on various domestic and international stages and festivals. Nowadays, he makes music under his own name. The first solo album 'HEIS' was released in 2020, 'HEMMA' followed in 2022. Gert Keunen is also a certified beer connoisseur and brews KEUN beer in his own microbrewery and with hops from his own cultivation. He currently has ten beer creations on the market.